


The Voices In My Head — Dadvid

by amoreflos



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Abusive Parents, Angst with a Happy Ending, Child Abuse, David Acting as Max's Parental Figure | Dadvid (Camp Camp), David Adopts Max (Camp Camp), It’s for your own good, Multi, NOT MAXVID, Night Terrors, Nightmares, PETER CAN SUCK MY DICK, Trans Max (Camp Camp), You get to see all the parents again, but things get better, daniel sucks in this too, david is the best dad, david tries to teach them sex ed and it’s hilarious, everyone is the same age they are in the show, he sucks man, he tries his best, im going to destroy your favorite character, implied rape, i’m so happy mr honeynuts got his own tag—, max goes through hell, more tags will be added as i complete the story, please guys, read all of the tags, sorry no softie daniel, starts a lil after season 4, the end of summer, there are undertones of maxpres, this will have a happy ending I promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:01:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24253255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amoreflos/pseuds/amoreflos
Summary: David knows something is up with Max’s family after Parents Day, and when the last week of camp is fast approaching, Max is acting off. If David knows something, then he’ll send Max off to the system or an orphanage. He’d rather stay at Monika and Peters dangerous house where all his nightmares that come true everyday than go somewhere with other stupid kids.So he comes up with an awful plan. He has 7 days to convince David that everything is okay back at home. 7 days to hide his scars, and act happy. But what happens when the nightmares get worse, and the kids start to catch on too?
Relationships: David & Gwen (Camp Camp), David & Max (Camp Camp), Harrison/Science Camp Neil (Camp Camp), Max & Science Camp Neil & Nikki (Camp Camp), Preston Goodplay & Harrison & Nerris, Preston Goodplay/Max
Comments: 47
Kudos: 206





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> i’ve grown familiar with villains that live in my bed,  
> they ask me to write them so they’ll never die when i’m dead.  
> and i’ve grown familiar with villains that live in my bed,  
> they beg me to write them so i’ll never die when i’m dead
> 
> — Control, Halsey

⚠️ TW: Mentions of abuse, language, and sex joke. Disturbing things happen to Max in nightmares and flashbacks, please be aware of this while reading this fic. ⚠️

Max's POV

Sparks of fire erupt from its flames as the idiots around me start their high of sugar. Neil and Niki are beside me, completely oblivious to the real world as they fight for the last marshmallow, not even asking me if I want it even though I haven't eaten a single thing tonight; not that I do want it. Throughout the day, I've felt Davids gaze on me, and it's kind of disturbing. I'm surprised he's not crying about the fact that camp is ending this week; he seems content gently strumming his guitar strings slowly finding a melody that's half decent. I'm sure Gwen wants to get out of here the first opportunity she gets so she can go home and masterbate to fish-people or something (according to David, she likes webbed feet.) Not sure how she makes money outside of camp though, seeing that she's stuck looking after the freaks at this hellhole.

I'll never admit it, but camp is the first place I've ever felt at home. It's better than the bitter scent of alcohol every corner you turn, or Monika and Peter's voices asking for me to get them another beer from the other room. Yeah, this place is absolutely awful with the untrained staff and low budget ... well ... everything. It isn't where I live though — and anything for better than my hell called home. Almost everyone had at least one loving legal guardian, someone they could cry with or look up to. Harisson's family situation is the only one I feel comfortable with. Sure, his family is afraid of him, but at least they don't haunt his dreams, their voices booming through your thoughts when all of a sudden your door is slammed open, and the last thing you remember is the pain of their slaps burning on your skin, your pleas for help. For anyone to rescue you from the harmful ways and welcome you into a rare hug so you can cry until you feel numb. 

But no one feels like that.

My thoughts are cut short when David stops messing with his guitar, gently placing it down leaning against the log he was sitting on before walking up to me. I know he doesn't actually care — it's his job to say hooey instead of fuck. It's his job to be an enthusiastic, annoying bastard. It's his job to pretend, to block out anything bad just so some innocent little shits can have the best experience in these stupid 9 weeks of camp. I've only ever seen him crack once though, and I never want to feel the way I did that day again.

"Hey kiddo—" I cut him off, never wanting to hear him call me that again.

"Don't fucking call me that." David's face falls for one second, before perking up again. 

"I just wanted to make sure you're doing okay!" Why won't he leave?

"Go away." 

"Max, I just want to help you. If you don't—"

"No shit David. I don't even want your help." 

"Max please just ... fine. I won't pester you, but please know I'm always here."

Something I've learned over the course of this way too long summer is that David won't snap. No matter what you try, David somehow doesn't break under the pressure. The only time he ever has was when that stupid bonfire didn't light. I mean, it's not just because of the bonfire — part of it was probably my fault for being an asshole. There was one thing that confused me though, and that was that David wasn't angry, or violent, or anything. He just stood there, the cold rain soaking through both of our clothes as he said I was right. I think he was crying; I remember his voice sounding uneven and eyes were tinted pink. 

That day was the first day I felt guilty. I had wanted to see him snap the whole summer leading up to that point, never expecting it to make me feel bad for him. The second and last time I've seen David really upset was Parents Day. When he took a look at my paperwork to only see a first time and age — not even a phone number. To know that the whole day your camper was saying that their parents wouldn't show, they didn't care about them and probably weren't ever going to come again. 

That they were abandoned.

When he glanced at the barely filled out piece of paper, he almost looked mad. David knows something is going on — and he can't. If he knew everything, I would be sent into a run down orphanage or the foster care system. Nobody wants an angry ten year old who has a swearing problem and curses too much, I'd be there for the next 8 years of my life. I need to think of a way out of this fast.

~

I lay awake at night bathing in the summer heat, when I come up with a plan. 7 days. Starting tomorrow, I have 7 days to convince David that everything is okay at home. 7 days to act like a happy kid. 7 days, and I'll be free from the possibility of ending up somewhere worse than where I already am.

David, meet the new Max. The Max Khatri that had the perfect nuclear family.

Meet a perfectly flawed plan.


	2. Conversations At Magical Settings Lead To Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> when max wakes up from a nightmare, he decides to take a walk. he runs into someone on the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⚠️Mentions of sex, suicidal thoughts, Detailed abuse, use of alcohol, transphobia, language, and more. Disturbing things happen to Max through flashbacks and nightmares, please be aware of this before reading! ⚠️

_ I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me. I’ll be the actress starring in your bad dreams. _

_ — Look What You Made Me Do, Taylor Swift  _

  
  
  


**Max’s POV — 7 Days Of Camp Left**

  
  
  
  


_ I’m in a cold, empty room that I can recognize all too well. There are only two mere pieces of furniture in the room — a twin sized bed in the corner of the room and a cheap 3 drawer dresser from IKEA placed across from it. The walls are an ugly grey, the shit colored floorboards creak below me as I try to hide from the heavy footsteps echoing down the hallway. There aren’t many places I can hide, but I try to make due by slipping under the bed before Peter makes it in here. _

_ The door slams open, and I try to stay silent as possible, clasping my hand over my mouth as I try to even out my breaths. Peter's shadow moves with his footsteps as he walks around the room, taunting me. “Where are you hiding, Maxine?”  _

_ ‘It’s Max’ I think to myself. But nobody cares that I’m not actually a girl, but I’m a boy. He walks around the room for a few more seconds, before looking down and seeing my shaking shadow. “Ah, I found you.” My eyes widen, knowing what's coming. Large hands roughly wrap around my arm, yanking me out from under my bed. His grip is tight and rough, and he pulls me out fast, my nose colliding with my bed. His grip somehow gets tighter, wrapping around the fresh cuts I made last night, throwing me into the empty wall.  _

_ The sound of Peters boots interacting with the creaking wood is the only thing filling the silence. He kneels in front of me, and I can smell the beers on his breath. He slaps my face, his handprint red on my cheek for a few seconds before fading, trying to snap me out of my thoughts.“You’re a useless piece of shit, you know that?” It’s just a dream, I tell myself. _

_ “You can’t even talk to me, huh?”  _

_ It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream … _

_ “Aww, come on Maxine. Stop being such a pussy.” A puch was thrown to my stomach, I kept my head down, the tears stinging my eyes dissolving into my lap. _

_ It’s a dream. You’ll wake up soon. _

_ “YOU CAN’T EVEN RESPOND TO ME” All of a sudden, he started punching me repeatedly, everything started to seem louder as the room started to look blurry, spinning around me as I scream fo— _

  
  


I wake up, gasping for air as I bolt up, sitting straight. I press a hand to my face, feeling fresh tears grazing my cheek. I blink a few times, feeling a few more fall while taking a look around to see I’m in a crappy cot, and I see Neil sleeping across from me, snoring softly. I’m inside our tent, safe from Peter and Monika. I take a breath in, smelling the pine air. Mr Honeynuts is to my side, placed on its stomach. I pick him up, holding him tight to my chest as I hug the only thing that means anything to me. When I was born, Monika didn’t realize that she was going to torture me. She was only 14 — not knowing what was to come. She bought him at some department store. Before my Grandmother died from lung cancer, she fixed him as he grew older with me.

I look down to see my bare arms, my hoodie hanging on a makeshift coat hanger in the corner of the tent. My body has been through a lot (especially my arms.) I fucking hate it. My whole body is littered in scars, I’m so short. My hair is getting longer and longer with each passing day, my voice is so high pitched. I wish I was born a boy, but I guess we don’t get what we want. Or … anything we want. 

I decide to get up, going to go on some type of walk thing or something. Quietly tip-toeing across the tent, I make my way to the coat hanger, grabbing my hoodie and pulling it over my head. Then, I walk towards the tents' flaps, opening one and making my way out of there. I decide to walk around a bit, seeing if I can find some bear that ate a camper from the 90’s, or the Quartermaster do some fucked up shit like the insest thing. That was pure entertainment — the look on David's face was priceless. 

Walking around for a little bit, I hear someone's voice from Lake Lilac. They weren’t half bad; they were actually kind of good. My feet seem to follow the sound, leading me out of the pine trees to the open area around the lake. On the dock, someone is hunched forward, their legs over the dock, feet barely kissing the lake. It was a clear night, you could make several constellations in the sky, mix of purples and blues in the sky making it look magical. A full moon was out, casting a white glow across every surface, making it look like glass reflecting off the lake.

I can hear the voice — they’re singing Seventeen from Heathers. I can guess it’s Preston based off of song selection. Personally, I thought Prestons voice sucked when he sang In Your Eyes song for Bonquisha; he probably improved since then. I’ve always loved music, but I’ve never been able to practice the hobby. Preston talks and sings about Heathers so much that I’ve memorized the song. I want to join in, but he looks in peace. I wish I could be at peace, but whenever I’m in the silence it eats me up. I’m so used to being yelled that, whenever it’s quiet nothing feels right. 

“Don’t stop looking in my eyes~” Wait why did I just join him? I blew my cover. I’m fucked. 

“My eyes~ … wait what? WHOS THERE?!” Preston basically yells at me, his head whipping side to side looking for someone. The dumbass finally thinks of looking behind him, eyes widening when they fall on me walking towards him. “MAX??? I DIDN’T KNOW YOU COULD SING!! I mean, you could’ve sung that on a lower note, but we can work on improvement!”

“You shouldn’t be so fucking loud, Preston. You’ll get yourself caught.” I say, sitting next to him on the dock. I’m much shorter than Preston, so while his feet just barely graze the water, mine dangle about half a foot above it.

“Sorry about that, don’t want David to yell at us. Wait — he wouldn’t yell at us. He would say he’s very disappointed in us, and then make not do activities that day, that aren’t even that fun anyway. If he were to yell at us though, he would cry about it for an hour while begging for our forgiveness. Now that I think about it, I want him to yell at us.” I laugh at that, I thought the only thing Preston thought about was his next big performance, or wet dreams about Ben Platt (he’s totally gay, it’s kind of obvious). 

“Gotta agree with you. Though, I can't help but feel bad for the guy. Probably doesn’t even know what sex is. That's really saying something — especially for a 24 year old male.” I have to act innocent, like some lame-ass six year old who pees their pants and watches  _ My Little Pony.  _

“Yikes. I’m actually surprised  _ you  _ know what sex is and all the curse words you use on a daily basis. Speaking of that, are you okay? Like, you haven’t really cursed much since you got here.” Oh no, he’s catching on. I just have to lie to David though, right?

“Yeah yeah I’m fine. J-just trying to … curse less! Yeah that! F-f-for the sake of David.” I hope he’ll leave it be, he’s smarter than he looks though.

“Since when do you care about David? I thought you hated him or something.” Preston asks, slightly turning towards me, crossing his legs. I didn’t realize this until now, but Preston isn’t wearing his usual theatre getup. Instead, he’s wearing an oversized Camp Campbell t-shirt that reaches a little below the dark green shorts he’s wearing. His shoes were tossed somewhere to the side of the dock, and his hair looked more messy. Without the loads of product he puts into it, it looks a little longer, resting on his shoulders. He didn’t look like an idiot. He actually looked kind of good. 

“Well … um … he does a lot for the camp and everyone else is this hellhaole so … he … deserves a break?”My voice was suddenly soft, I think both of us were confused about what I was saying. It was kind of awkward now though, so I just stayed silent. Suddenly, a yellow light came from behind us, and a disappointed David was there too. 

“Max!” He stretched out the a, sounding like a disappointed parent completely oblivious to Prestons presence. 

“Damnit.”

  
  


~

  
  


“Why were you guys out so late? It’s 4:00 in the morning! I mean Max … I’m not that surprised if we're being honest, but Preston? This was really unexpected” After David found us at the lake, he took us back to the counselors cabin, sitting us down at the desk with two glasses of water, wanting us to explain ourselves. Gwen woke up due to David's yelling, yelling back at him while he sheepishly said sorry to Gwen, somehow intimidated by her. 

I was about to say something, but then I remember the plan. I have to stay nice, and act like a loved child; because I am. Max Khatri has loving parents. Max Khatri has loving parents. Maybe if I repeat it enough it will sound true, even if it isn’t.

__ _ Peter slammed the front door in rage, walking into the kitchen to get a beer when he sees me putting the dishes in the dishwasher. Deciding something was suddenly more important, a bead of nervous sweat runs down my forehead as I look up for a second. “What are you staring at, bitch?”  _

Maxwell Khatri has loving parents.

_ I hadn’t even looked at him for a second longer before his beer was discarded, slamming it against the counter watching the glass shatter into a million pieces, the aroma of the cheap beverage quickly filling the air, the liquid dripping off the counter, and landing on the floor. _

_ ` _

__ Maxwell Khatri has loving parents.

__

__ _ Peter fished around for a sharp yet big piece of the large bottle before finding one that would do the job. Yanking my sleeve up, he forces the piece of glass against my then scarless skin, breaking the barrier between the skin and blood. A dark crimson spilled out of my arm as I screamed out of agony. “Learn your place.” He finishes with. _

__ Maxwell Khatri will never have loving parents, no matter what universe.

“Hey Max!”

I apparently missed Preston’s explanation for himself, because both David and Preston are now staring at me waiting for something to explain myself. “I couldn’t sleep because of the crickets, so I decided to go on a walk and found Preston. We talked until you found us.”

David sighs, never able to hold a grudge. “Okay, since you didn’t technically do anything bad I’ll let you off the hook this once. Just go back to your tents and don’t do it again. Preston wears a look full of relief, as I wear one of shock. That’s it? Even though I know David would never harm a fly, it still always shocks me when someone doesn’t get a harsh punishment — like this one no punishment at all. I decide that I don’t want to be there anymore, getting up and leaving the counselors cabin walking toward my tent. I suddenly want to sleep all of this off.

  
  
  


**Preston’s POV**

  
  


“Hey David?” I need to ask him something, if I’m not the only one going to go insane over this.

“Yes Preston?” He responds, sitting down in the chair that Max was.

“Was Max acting ... I don’t know … weird to you?”

“No not really.” David sits and rethinks his answer for a moment, before changing his answer. “Actually, yeah. He didn’t curse a single time, or say anything hateful. He kind of just looked deep in thought.’

“Good, I was thinking the same thing. We should keep an eye on him.” I say

“Yeah, maybe we can see if anything is up later.”

“K. Night David.” I decided to go back to my tent, maybe so i can think this through while listening to Le Mis. 

“Sweet dreams, Preston.” David says, before I walk out of the cabin.

It was as if Max was trying to act good, I never want to see him act like that again. He almost looked like he was trying to act like someone completely different then himself, someone innocent that had a perfect life. He only cursed once throughout that whole hour, and that never happens. What would happen for Max to act like that, especially in front of David? 

I’m going to figure it out, and nothing can stop me. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, chapter 1 ended up being so long that i’m splitting it up into two parts. Before you ask: no, there won’t be much Maxpres because this is a Dadvid fic. There will be implications of something that could turn into more though. Also, I decided to make Max trans (ftm) because there isn’t really enough of it in the fandom. If you have any suggestions, let me know!


	3. Potato Fights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a food fight and space kid dropping a glass leads to some suspicious behavior from max.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⚠️ Language, Abuse, Panic Attack, Suicidal Thoughts, Transphobia. Disturbing things happen to Max through flashbacks and nightmares. Please be aware of this before reading ⚠️

**Max’s POV — The Morning After**

  
  
  


The room was filled to the brim with noise, Nikki running around the room flinging Quartermasters poor excuse of potatoes across the room. Quartermaster was crying in the corner about the white mush, while Gwen tried to comfort him and tame the food fight with David at the same time. While Nikki, Harrison and I were owning the fight throwing mashed potatoes everywhere (Harrison was using his powers), people like Preston, Neil, and Ered were taking cover behind a knocked over table. Space Kid, Dolph, and Nurf were on the other side, throwing potatoes right back at us. 

Having Harrison on our side was a real advantage. He could form huge clumps of mashed potatoes using his powers, and have perfect aim while being able to make potatoes dodge us was inhuman, but brilliant at the same time. “HOW ARE YOU ENJOYING LOSING?!?” Nikki really likes trash talking them, I like watching them struggle, and Harrison likes practicing his magic. Neil would be here too, but he’s begging Harrison to take cover behind the table. I know we’ll be seeing more Harisson — he and Neil are attached to the hip.

“I SWEAR TO GOD NIKKI, YOU’ll BE COVERED IN KNIVES AFTER THIS!” David desperately tries to shut that down, his efforts useless as it only fuels the rage in the fight. A scream from Preston echoed through the Mess Hall, everyone stopping what they were doing for a split second Harrisons clump of mashed potato he was forming dropped to the wood floor, everyone realized it was Preston, and the 1 second intermission was over. 

“YOU GOT MASHED POTATO IN MY HAIR, DOLPH!” Nurf and Neil started laughing, as Prestons face almost looked like it was boiling due to rage. Preston got up from the floor, walking over to my team and grabbing a clump of potatoes, tossing it toward Dolph. 

“Welcome to the team, Preston. Kick his as—butt.” I can’t curse in front of David, or else the plan won’t work. I need to be innocent and happy, I need to act normal — even when nothing is normal. Nothing will ever be normal for me. I remember I’m in the middle of a potato fight, and I can’t think like that. 

“Thanks Maximilian. Wanna team up on him?” Preston yells over the sounds of splatting potatoes, Gwen having an anxiety attack, and David crying for help to try and stop this right away in the room, sending a smile my way while talking off his shakespearean sleeves (so they don’t get ruined), and tossing them behind the table he was taking cover at. 

“Let's do it!” and just like that, we’re throwing potatoes his way, and Dolph regrets messing with Preston Goodplay’s hair. Sometimes, I wish life could always be like this. In times like these, I’m smiling, I’m laughing, and happy. In times like these, I learn to forget the shadows of Peter and Monika, lurking behind me as if they could ruin everything in the blink of an eye. I’m alive right now, a soft smile glowing on everyone's faces — even Neil and Ered’s faces, who are trying to avoid getting hit by the mushy substance, even if they already have. Even David has joined in on the fight, tossing a few pieces of potato, stifling a few giggles. 

Just as I’m starting to have fun, to actually feel joy and not pretend, Monika and Peter’s shadows jump out of nowhere when Space Kid drops a glass cup. I flinch, an arm covering my face as I slightly shake. 

_ hadn’t even looked at him for a second longer ... _

“Max are you okay?” Their efforts to snap me out of it were useless. 

_ … beer was discarded, slamming it against the counter watching the glass shatter … _

David walked towards Preston and I, kneeling down to my level. 

_ … Peter fished around for a sharp yet big piece of the large bottle … _

“Max are you okay?” David put a hand on my shoulder, but I flinched once again, their haunting voices filling my brain as everything around me started to blur together.

_ … forces the piece of glass against my then scarless skin _

“MAX!” I look up to see David’s concerned filled face. The potatoes were discarded, the long food fight ended as my fellow campers surrounded us, huddled behind David as their whispers filled the air. They tried to keep their distance, but managed to pry too. Preston is still next to me, looking like he was about to cry. Tears were alighty painted on my cheeks, shining against the Mess Hall light bulb that flickers a few times every minute. 

“P-please s-s-stop.” I don’t know what's happening, everything is blurring together. 

“Hey campers go to your tents for a little while. I’ll tell you when it’s okay to come out, alright? Preston, you're in charge.” He tells the campers calmly. The campers behind me reluctantly leave, Neil, Nikki, and Preston linger for a moment before leaving the Mess Hall, looking back at me shaking before leaving to their tents. 

“Max, you're safe. It's me! Counselor David!” He can’t see me like this, I’m supposed to be happy, I’m supposed to be the Max that's loving and affectionate. What happened to Max from 10 minutes ago? Why can’t I be happy? 

“P-Please just l-l-l-leave. I’m used to d-dealing with these b-by myself.” I croak out. 

“But you shouldn’t deal with this by yourself.” It feels hard to breath, and with him here everything feels worse. He knows. He knows and I’m going to get shipped off to somewhere I don’t know and it’s all my fault. His hand is still hovering over my shoulder, warmth reflecting off of it reminding me that he’s still here, but I don’t want him here.

  
  


_ It was a stormy night, as a little boy laid in his bed, looking out of the window. The room was cold and dark, the power went out an hour ago but his house was still quiet like always. With two ponytails is his hair, and an oversized blue hoodie that went down to his feet barely keeping him warm, he needed help. For someone to tell him that everything is okay. When he went to kindergarten, all of the other children told him about his loving families with siblings keeping the house warm and loud. He always thought that everywhere was like where he was — dark and lonely. He wanted to grow up with loving parents, and become big and strong with a beard and maybe play a sport. He could have kids and be happy. _

_ But that's not what he was used to. Being happy sounded like a distant dream to him. Nobody he’s ever met, no adult he’s ever met has cared about him. They’ve always given up on him before even starting, or they were his Mommy and Daddy and the friends they had over late at night. He needed help though, so he left his room, and went downstairs to the living room. His Mommy was sitting on the couch, with a drink that looked beige in a fancy glass.  _

_ “Hi Mommy!” His mother looked down on him, dragging out a sigh. _

_ “What do you want, Maxine?” She looked tired, with dark things that looked like circles with little lines under her eyes, bruises all over her orange skin.  _

_ “I wanna watch a movie with you and Daddy! It’s scary upstairs.” The little boy said. _

_ “Go back to your room, It’s safer there.” His Mommy said, with a sad smile, her son frowned. _

_ “But I wanna be here with you—“ He was cut off by his Daddy's scary footsteps. _

_ “Why are you disturbing your Mom, Maxine?” The boy didn’t know what disturbing ment, he didn’t always know what his father was saying at all. His father was scary, and would sometimes say mean things. One time, he heard his Mommy and Daddy fighting, and then his Mommy cry for help. He didn’t understand what was going on. _

_ “I didn’t mean to! I just wanted to watch a movie or play a game!” The boy cried out. _

_ “Don’t you understand? In this world, you don’t get love or else you become weak. You hurt others or you get hurt.” His father spat.  _

_ “But I—“ _

_ A slap echoed throughout the room, marking the first time the boy's father ever abused him. He spent that night alone in his empty room. The storm raged on outside his room, he cried into his pillow only wanting someone to hug him and tell him everything would be okay. As he grew older, he started to cut his hair, and hide in the safety of his hoodie. People told him that this was wrong, and that he was a girl. That everything he did was complete bullshit. One slap turned to two, then five, and then he used other methods of abuse. He would start to drink more too, and suddenly they weren’t parents but people he lived with. Mommy and Daddy turned to Mother and Father — then he got rid of the title completely leaving them as Peter and Monika. Why should he call them parents if they never acted the part? Adults were cruel, and would never be nice. Adults couldn't be trusted, and the boy made a promise to himself: never learn to love any adult. _

_ No matter the face, no matter the personality. _

  
  


I can’t breath, and David won’t leave me alone. I need to do this by myself — I can’t do this with him here. He’ll catch onto everything. He’ll know what’s going on, and I can’t let him do that. He finally moved his hand from hovering over my shoulder, before grabbing my hand, placing it over his chest. “Do you feel how I’m breathing? Deeply, In and out, okay?” 

He had a small, reassuring smile on his face that disgusts me. How could he still stay smiling in a situation like this? I hate how happy he is. I hate how he’s the only adult to ever give at least one shit about me. I hate the fact that he cares, that he’s unrealistically nice, that his stupid breathing teqnique actually helps with my breathing. 

I hate how he makes me want to break that promise I made to myself all those years ago. 

_ Never learn to love any adult, no matter the face or personality.  _

I’ve kept that promise with me my whole life. I forget exactly when, but I know that over time more people started to not care about me until love didn’t exist. The memory of that night is faint yet haunting. The night it all started. My hand is still under David's big one, boney fingers covering my small hand. His aren’t smooth by any standards; they’re rough and calloused from camping. I can feel his chest rise and fall slowly, giving me a breathing pattern to try to follow. I want to go to how I usually deal with these alone in my room. I would be curled up into a ball giving myself a hug with shaky arms because nobody else would. My tears would fall into Me Honeynuts, who would be in a tight grip as I rocked myself back and forth. 

After a while my breathing slows down into a healthy pace, almost matching Davids. “There we go! Do you want a glass of water?” I looked up at David to find him not smiling, but looking like he was deep in thought. Sometimes, I wish I knew what the camp man was thinking about. I wanna know all the lies he keeps away from children. Has he murdered anyone? Robbed a bank? Kidnapped? I have to ask nicely though, I can’t be rude though, or else the plan will shed to bits.

“I wanna go to my tent.” I say, walking towards the Mess Halls doors, pushing them open to find Preston, Nikki, and Neil. Not feeling like dealing with them, I shove them to the side, making my way to my tent. The day passed on without me, David coming in to check on me every hour, not even leaving for dinner. They don’t need me, and I don't need them. It doesn’t matter if I yearn for a hug of real family — life doesn’t work like that. I spend that night tossing and turning, before falling into my dreamscape filled with Peter and Monika, their hurtful words blurring together in my head. Their insults as sharp as knives preparing me for the next day of the last days of camp.

  
  
  


**David’s POV — A Little After 2:30 AM**

  
  
  


Gwen's soft snores fill the night air as I sit at the desk, holding two things. My half of the sparrows 

staff, and a picture of Max and I watching a movie together. It was the day after Parents Day. Max didn’t know how to swim, and I wanted to spend some time bonding with him. While everyone else was splashing in the sun, Max and I were tucked away in the Mess Hall watching some cheesy Hallmark movie. Max had fallen asleep on my shoulder, a soft smile on his face as he cuddled up against my arm. He was too cute to resist taking a picture — so I took one with me leaning into him with a smile, sparkles in my eyes. I would say that's one of my fondest memories with Max, and I hope there's more to come. 

But the last couple of days have been weird. Max has been acting so weird, and that random thing in the Mess Hall today is raising more questions. What has happened in Max’s past for him to be like this? Preston was right — something weird is going on with Max. I’m not sure what yet, but Max is one of the most important people in my life, and I’m going to find out what’s going on.

Because somebody fucking has to.

  
  



	4. Search & Rescue Camp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> when max looses his temper, he goes to the forest to cool down. nobody knew they would be spending their day searching for max who was lost in the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⚠️language, emotional abuse, physical abuse, suicidal thoughts and major character injury. disturbing things happen to max and (mentioned) harrison. please be aware of this before reading! ⚠️
> 
> this isn't edited so please be gentle!

_**a/n: this isn’t edited but its really long (around 6,000 words) so please be gentle lol. this chapter is also full of the feels, i make a lot of people cry. i hope you enjoy, and if you have any suggestions for this let me know!** _

**Nikki’s POV — 6 Days Of Camp Left**

Unlike yesterday, the Mess Hall was quiet and cautious. Space Kid was quietly chattering with Dolph about trying to make a new space ship at one table. Nerris and Harrison were arguing about which type of magic is better while Preston desperately tried to separate their bickering at another table. Ered and Nurf were in a quiet yet comfortable silence at the table next to us! Everything was kind of normal and bland though. Why aren’t there any bear attacks? Or wolf packs! Maybe a swarm of bees could attack David! That would be pretty fun to watch. He has such girly screams, and I really want to have one last adventure with Neil and Max before camp ends!

Speaking of Max and Neil, it’s getting really awkward between the three of us (or at least I think it is). Neil told me this morning that when he went to his and Max’s tent yesterday, that Max was hiding under one of the paper thin blankets that come with the cots, curled up in a ball with his bear who I think is named Mr.Honey Peanuts. Or was it just Mr. Honeynuts? I forget. Apparently when Neil asked if he was okay, Max lifted his blanket to flip him off, but suddenly decided not to and just hid under his blanket again. Before he did though, Neil could see tears run down his cheeks, and a look of fear on his face. I’m just confused about why he would be scared. Sure, there is some weird stuff here he’s never been scared of it before now.

Max hasn’t step foot outside his tent since the food fight accident, so when he drags himself through the Mess Hall with a miserable expression on his face — it concerns me. His usual eye bags sit under his green orbs, but darker and deeper. His hoodie sleeves have what look like tears speckled across the lighter blue part, and his clothing in general looks shuffled and more bunched in areas. Sure, Max has a cynical personality, but it has never been this bad. He tries to be nicer, only to become more quiet and upset. Max would tell Neil and I if something was wrong, right?

“Hi Max! What adventure do you think we’ll go on today?” I ask, trying to add something carefree to the tension filled air.

“Shut the fu—I mean I don’t know.” There it was! He was about to curse, but stopped himself right before he could! He’s purposely trying to act like a good kid. But why?

“Are you okay? Yesterday was pretty rough.” Neil asks, having a scoop of his mashed potatoes before twitching and coughing what they think is brown slop into his napkin, deciding he was better without it. My tray is almost empty, and seeing his was loaded with a full meal, I drag his tray toward me, scooping up the potato mush and watching it plop! until his tray is empty.

“Yeah what was that?” I couldn’t help but be curious about what goes on in his head. What goes on in there? There's one thing: he definitely has a huge secret he’s keeping, and that secret is hurting him. I don’t even know what happened yesterday with David and Max in the Mess Hall, but it probably had to do with said secret. Does David know what it is? I should talk to Neil.

He stays silent for a bit, while both Neil and I are on the edge of our seats (or the end of the bench, whatever), waiting for his answer. Neil and I make eye contact, and I think we’re both thinking the same thing. He’s not gonna tell us that easily.

Suddenly, I’m standing on the bench so I look taller, towering over Max and Neil. “ALRIGHT MAX, IF YOUR NOT GONNA TELL US LIKE THAT, LET'S TANGO—“ I have a perfect proposition, but Max cuts me off.

“Would you just stop talking about last fuc— freaking night?” He didn’t sound upset, just tired. Tired of fighting whatever battle he’s faced with, tired of everything. I suddenly feel bad, slowly sinking back into my seat, a face filled with only guilt and useless apologies takes over my face. What’s going on?

Max is out of the Mess Hall in a flash, not even grabbing his usual mug of coffee. Slamming the door shut, everyones eyes are suddenly on our table when they notice Max is missing, but the hate filled boy's mood that seems to follow him wherever he goes suddenly sticks to Neil and I. Neil thinks for a moment, until he decides to talk.

“Nik, everyone knows Max is acting odd. Maybe if we put together a bunch of his behavior then we could try to figure out what's going on?” The idea doesn’t sound that bad, so I nod wanting to give it a try. But I think for a moment, times and situations where Max acts off. When are those?

Everytime I touch him, he flinches. It’s something I’ve noticed the whole summer, but didn’t pay any mind to it until now. It might help with figuring out what's going on with him. If the thing he’s hiding hurts him, maybe the flinching has to do with that. I remember something. When Max was having what looked like a seizure, I remember hearing Max say one thing when Neil and I were about to un-press ourselves from the mess hall doors.

_“P-Please just l-l-l-leave. I’m used to d-dealing with these b-by myself.”_

I need to talk to Neil, right now.

“Neil, this thing he’s keeping from us is hurting him. I didn’t really think about it until now, but he flinches everytime we touch him.” Neil sighs; I suddenly don’t feel hungry for thirds anymore.

“No shit. Do you even live with him? No.” Wait what?

“Huh?”

“Nikki, he has nightmares every single night. I’ve heard them. He’ll wake up crying, or screaming for help. I’ve tried to get something out of him, but he’s really good at dodging questions.” I still don’t know what could be happening.

So that's the weird sound I hear at around 2-3 AM every night.

“He flinches everytime I touch him. He won’t look at me for 5 minutes after every time I wanna fight.” I say.

“I also remember this one thing he said. Please just leave, I’m us—“

“Use to dealing with these by myself.” I finish for him. My eyes feel itchy.

“I don’t think you know what exactly happened yesterday. That was a panic attack, and based off of what he said, they’re recurring.”

“He would tell us if he was in danger, right?” My voice cracks, and I can feel my heart slowly breaking. Our eyes meet for one last time that meal, only to see pain and concern. We were suddenly not kids anymore, and the situation was more serious than both of us thought. While Max suffered in silence, his eyes pleaded for help.

I didn’t know it at the time, but a red-headed counselor's eyes and ears never left that table for the whole entire meal. That counselor had one idea in his head for what could be going on behind the scenes, but shut it down immediately, it would destroy him if it were true. If it’s repressed, it goes away, he always taught himself.

But the idea was the truth, he just didn’t know it yet either.

•••

** Max’s POV **

Barging out of the Mess Hall in a hurry was the only way out of that one. Neil and Nikki know something is up, and I have to be less obvious with how I hide my issue. Why does the foster system have to exist? Why can’t I be left on the streets to rot and wither away so I can die the death I deserve? I don’t need to be here, nobody cares about me.

Then why the hell am I still here in the first place?

At first, I wanted to go back to my tent. But I should probably go on one insanely boring walk rather than just isolate myself all day. It’ll make my case worse, seeing that I’m trying to act like a better person than worse and everything. I see a path, a path that David has always avoided. It teases me, the dirt on it looks darker, with no sunlight seeping through the trees. Dark shadows are cast over the twig covered surface.

I can hear David telling me not to do it, and his long safety conversations about going into the woods alone. It’s how every fairytale goes: the little girl dressed in red walked into the forest, she wanted to see someone, or maybe just wanted to go on a harmless adventure. But a person, creature, or anything really is lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right time to bite. If the stories were at all realistic, the little girl would be dead. Unless you read the real tales (brothers grimm can be used as an example), you get a happy ending tied into a neat little bow. Someone sent out a search party and found them, or the big bad wolf decides to not eat the little girl but instead falls for a trick.

But the trickle that shivers up my spine is the most interesting thing that's happened at this god forsaken camp yet, and so intriguing that my feet seemed pulled to it. Like they have a mind of their own, I think of this as a way to get away from the camp for a bit. Maybe I could find a new secret hideout, or ignore Nikki and Neil for a while. While walking through the eerie woods, I find a cliff overlooking a waterfall across from in. Below, is a sandy shore with rushing waters. There are some grassy patches, and huge clumps of rocks with sharp ridges that border the rushing waters. If it were where I was standing right now, it would be a perfect getaway. But it had to be so, so far below.

Taking a few steps forward, I’m suddenly at the edge. I decide to sit down, hanging my legs or the edge. A waft of cool wind blows my way, my hair swaying momentarily. It’s so calm here, it could be a new getaway. I could steal David’s phone and play crappy games here, or work on that tap routine without being interrupted. Theres enough of the rock as a hard surface i can use that no one would be annoyed if tap marks got all over it. One of the only things I’ve been able to salvage is my pair of tap shoes. I had some crappy IPod that was super old and Monika gave it to me when I was 5 to entertain me. It’s barely standing now, the battery's shot and it’s super laggy. But when I was 6 I started to dance and when I was nine there was a dance club at some studio close to my school. I showed up to one practice and there was a basket of spare shoes, so I stole a pair and left.

On that shitty IPod, dance videos were one of the only things that got me through it. Peter would always yell at me for the tap shoes making too much noise, sometimes he slapped me for it. But the punishment was never too bad because it was something feminine, and he would do anything for me to stop pulling the “boy crap”. Sure, the punishments weren’t that bad for an even worse reason but I was kind of thankful for it. Peter and Monika were so sick of me that they sent me here just to get rid of me — Even if it was only for 2 ½ months. It was better than nothing, right?

A sudden growl behind the trees shocks me, making me jump with a shout. Everything after that happened so fast. I was soaring in the air, before I met the surface of a sandy shore with a large thud and scream. As everything went to black, I was suddenly that little girl, dressed in dark red lost in the forest who just wanted to go on a harmless adventure. That little girl, was stuck under a cliff, and wouldn’t get out for another 10 hours.

~

** David’s POV — A Little After the Fall **

“Hey David, why don’t you check on Max? He’s had a rough couple of days. I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave him alone for long.” Gwen says while writing in her diary. We’ve been hanging out by the lake a lot lately. It’s a saturday, so the kids are free to roam the campgrounds as they please. Apparently, Max told Gwen about it when she wants to get away from everyone for a little bit. It’s actually really peaceful, and I’m a little surprised Max was the one who told her about it. Max has made a lot of progress for about 2 ⅓ months though, and I’m really proud of him.

“Yeah, I’ll go check on him.” Getting up from the lake and brushing the sand off my clothes, I start the short walk to the campers tents.After hearing Nikki and Neil’s conversation earlier, I really want to have a conversation with Max about what’s happening with him. But if my suspicions are right, it would kill me. The thought alone makes my stomach churn, and my head hurt. Who would do that to someone as amazing as Max? It would take a little while to get it out of him, and some help from Neil, Nikki and maybe Preston. But if it’s what it takes, I’ll do anything for him, he means so much, and someone needs to show him that. He is loved by everyone here at camp.

I’ve never liked picking favorites. In fact, it’s one of my least favorite questions I get from campers every year. Thank golly I haven’t gotten that question yet this year, because sometimes I think it’s kind of obvious that I do have a favorite this year. Max has done genuine things for no price this year, has been an amazing leader and has fought for the camp like nobody else ever has. Sure, he has foul language and behavior but nobody likes him for his character. I arrive at his tent, and say his name only to hear no response.

Usually, he would respond with at least a weirdly polite go away (at least from the past two days) or I don’t want to participate.

“Hey Max! Can I come in?” Still no response. “Max?” Nothing.

“I’m coming in!” I warn, but when I duck under the tent flaps, he wasn’t there. Not even a pillow dummy or note was set in his place. Did he try to escape again? Maybe he really didn’t like the camp that much? I shut that thought down immediately. I’m just overreacting, there's nothing to fear. A part of me thinks this might be bad though, and that concerns me. I decide to check a few more places. The Mess Hall, Activities Field, and the tents again to see if he had come back. By the time I’ve checked everywhere he could be in a safe distance, I’m pulling my hair out. Where could he be?

I decide to run back to the lake to get Gwen, and when I arrive I see her talking to Preston and Harrison. I’ve never been so fast in my life, I probably look like a horrible influence on the campers. But I decided that Max is more important than that.

“GWEN!!” I take a second to catch my breath. “Gwen, Max is missing. I’ve checked over the whole campground for him and he’s nowhere to be seen. We need to hurry! He-He could be hurt, o-or worse. He could have been attacked by a bear by now, Gwen! He could be de—“ Gwen cuts me off, and my breathing gets worse due to my rambling.

“First off, Max is definitely not dead and couldn’t have gotten that far. He has short legs and the forest itself isn't that big Second off, Preston and Harrison, go round up the campers. If Max is really missing and far, we’ll need all the help we can get. I’ll let you guys have tomorrow off.” Preston and Harrison scatter, gathering anyone that could be found in the next 10 minutes. I sit down, getting to Gwen’s level.

“Okay David I need you to breath. In and out okay? Do that while I talk to you. Max is a tough kid. He’s probably been through some shit and can probably go through some more.”

“Gwen he’s really — I just— I can’t lose him okay?” Gwen goes silent for a while, in shock. Then, she spoke in a joking manner.

“Wait, do you like him or something? Because way to be ob—“

“Wait what? Gwen that's gross! I would never like a kid! That's illegal anyway. I’m saying that. It’s just after this whole summer I’ve gotten to know him, and he’s made so much progress. I really care about him and I just . . . I see a little bit of my younger self in him. I was just as cynical and spiteful as he was because I was raised in the wrong crowd.” Gwen’s mouth is almost wide open, and I think I’m blushing a bit.

“So . . . you see Max like a son? Because a lot of things make sense now.” Gwen isn’t making fun of me, or saying that I'm just a poor 24 year old right out of college drowning in debt. She has a sweet, reassuring smile on her face. I’m definitely blushing now, and part of me thinks it's true. But Max has parents of his own, Sure, they aren’t the best from what I’ve heard but their parents nonetheless. That means I could never see him like that, and he would never see me like that.

“I just wanna see him grow more to be a happy kid. I wanna see him — WAIT THIS ISN'T EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT ME!” Gwen is laughing now, A smile still on her face.

“Don’t worry David. I get it now.” Gwen says, punching my shoulder as she picks up her diary, putting her pen in the crease. “And we’ll find Max soon. I promise. Then you can have your sad, dysfunctional little family back soon~” Gwen is just teasing me now, which is something I should have expected. The rest of the campers are walking towards here, probably wanting to form a plan. Neil and Nikki are both going insane, rambling about how they should have not upset him while Harrison is trying to comfort Neil and keep Nikki from shooting up the place. Gwen and I get up, walking over to the campers that are arguing about what could’ve happened.

“Okay campers. I guess our Saturday has turned into Search & Rescue camp, because we all need to find Max. We also need to do this quickly, and hope to find him before dark. I’ve already checked everywhere but the forest, so we’re gonna check the forest. I’m going to give you each a partner to search with, okay?” The campers respond in different ways of saying okay, and I continue trying to seem calm. I’m the role model here, I have to stay strong.

“Okay. Nerris with Preston, Harrison with Neil, Nikki with Ered, and I guess Nurf, Space Kid and Dolph will be a trio. You guys can’t separate by any means necessary. Gwen and I will be searching separately, so if you need either of us we’ll be easier to find. Lets go!”

And we were off to the forest, ready to look day and night for Max.

~

** Max’s POV **

_I'm in Monika and Peters living room, looking at tap videos on my IPod. The way the dancers can cleanly make those complicated tap moves but manage to land them and make them look like the easiest thing is beautiful. I’ve been struggling with my time steps and LA time steps, but I’ll get there eventually. The music ends, and my eyes almost look like stars as I press each new video, admiring their flashy costumes and aesthetic. How their smiles shine brightly under the stage lights. I’ve been taught that I shouldn’t be so lazy, almost laying down on the couch, appreciating things that I love with a hopeful smile on my face. Maybe one day, I could be a dancer._

_In all of a sudden, my Mom bursts through the door with groceries. I already know what I have to do, but when I try to get up, my leg aches. I fall down, unable to walk. “Mother, could you help me?”_

_“What, are you so lazy you can’t get off your ass?” She looks at me on the floor trying to pull myself forward with my arms, only to find one of my arms extremely weak. My body giving in, I stay limp on the ground._

_“Please?” I croak out, feeling pain shoot through my leg. I groan in pain, feeling my eyes water. Tears start to fall down my cheeks, the feeling of abandonment sinking in my gut._

_“No Maxine. You can get up and put away these groceries while I get ready for the club. God, why didn’t I put you up for adoption? I was so fucking naive, thinking that you would work out. All you are is a kid who pulls this boy act all the time and makes things harder for everyone.”_

_“Mother—“_

_“Do you really think anyone will go looking for you? You say it yourself, David only pretends to care. Your little friends only feel bad for your sob story.” It was almost like my own thoughts were talking to me, David doesn’t care, Nikki and Neil don’t care, Preston doesn’t care._

_I’m alone._

As soon as I open my eyes, the sunlight hurts my head and I close them again. The ground feels like sand, which probably softened my fall. I’m on my side, and the added pressure makes the pain in my arm and leg worse. I tried to fall on my back, and it worked. The pain in my arm and leg is a little better now, which I find reliving. Thinking back to earlier, I remember sitting on a cliff and then falling off of it when I heard something. Why did I end up here? Why didn’t I just stay at breakfast?

I took a look over the place, and It’s actually really nice. The waterfall looks like a million falling crystals, shining against the sunlight. The waves of the river crash over the rocky shore. There are a few flowers that stand here and there along with tall grass that sways in the breeze. The cliff isn’t too high, if you were to measure 3 average backyards and stack them on top of each other — that's about the height of the cliff. My injuries shouldn’t be too bad, seeing that I landed on sand. But I’m lost, and I need to find a way out of here.

I try to stand up, only to feel pain spark through my leg, making me fall right back down. “Hello?” I yell, wanting to hear someone's voice. The only voice I hear call back to me is my own echoing against the walls of the cliff and waterfall. Tears start to prickle my eyes, falling down my cheeks and crashing into the sandy surface. With each passing minute, I start to feel more and more helpless as the only noises around me are not people calling my name, but my own sobs for help and the water rushing down the river.

“Please, someone … ANYONE! HELP ME … help me please, if you can hear me …” My voice is cracking along with my heart. I decided to pull a photo out of my pocket — one of David and I on the day after Parents Day. I remember falling asleep on his shoulder, the warmth of one of the only truly happy memories I have putting a sad smile on my face. I woke up that night with a glass of water and a photo of the memory with a note on the back.

_Max,_

_You’ve made so much progress over this summer. You’ve made friends, memories, and the others around you happier. We're almost halfway through the summer, and I wish it could never end.I wouldn’t have this, or any summer any other way._

_Your Camp Counselor,_

_David :)_

The note makes more of my tears fall, my string of sorrys and for help mixing into one cruel blend. Why am I such a sap? Why am I so weak? Why did I jump because of one growl behind the trees? 

How could I be so stupid?

~

**Harrison’s POV — 2 Hours Into Searching**

“Neil, are you okay?”We’ve been looking for Max everywhere we could, which was only behind trees and bushes. Sometimes Neil would look inside the tree, which led to getting leaves stuck in his hair. I bet they’re gonna be a pain to get out because of how curly it is in the first place.

“What does it look like? My best friend is missing because I was the idiot who pestered him about yesterday. Out of all fucking things, why did I do that?” Neil groans when he can’t find Max behind another tree. It looks like he’s trying to tear it out of the ground. With a little magic and pulling out of mid air myself, the bush tears out of the ground with a “pop!”.

“Neil, I promise you that this is nowhere near your fault.” I say, taking a few steps closer to him. His back is faced towards me, I wish we could talk face to face without it being awkward all the time. At least he doesn’t hate me anymore — he finally realized that my powers are just something I came with.

“NO HARRISON, IT IS!” He suddenly turns around, a lot closer than I anticipated, but I’m not complaining. “Because I was the idiot who cared a little too much, and I already know that Max doesn’t have it easy because of the nightmares, and—and the hoodie … what could’ve happened to him?”

All of those things sound so familiar to me. The hiding, the nightmares; you just want to be a kid and not worry about what your parents think of you, or how they treat you. When your parents are afraid of you, they eventually start to emotionally abuse you. One time, used my magic with just one playing card in front of my parents, and I was locked in an empty room for days. They’ve never gotten to the point of physical abuse — they aren’t like that — but they don’t care about me.

They didn’t want me, they wanted my brother.

“Do you want a hug?” I ask, taking another step towards him. I don’t want to overdue it or anything, I don’t even usually confort people, but Neil really needs it and for some reason I hate seeing him upset. Sure, I’ve seen Neil go insane over things since day one, but he’s never cried. It’s playing with my insides, and makes my heart swell. Why do I feel upset for him?

“Uh … sure?” He responds, sniffling as I wrap my arms around him. The hug is secure, and Neil’s head falls into my shoulder, tears making a wet patch on my vest that I don’t seem to care about. I’m proud of how much progress Neil and I have made. Shaky arms wrap around me, and I feel safe. Is it okay to say I’m happy right now, even though we're supposed to be looking for Max? Neil and I used to have a hating relationship. Sure, My heart would skip a beat or my eyes would linger, but we actually don’t hate each other right now.

“Neil, I promise you that we’ll find Max. No matter how long it takes, no matter how hard we try we will find him.” Nobody deserves to go through what kids like me do, and Max might have it worse. I pull away from the hug, bringing one of my gloved hands up to his face, wiping away a stray tear that was casted upon him. Small amounts of pink dusted our cheeks, and my heartbeat sped up. I don’t care about the consequences. I’ll help you figure out what's wrong, because a strong part of me thinks this is worse than both of us think it is.” My hand stays for a few moments before I move it to his shoulder.

“W-wait what did you mean when y-y-you said you have a feeling?” Neil asked me, concern taking over his face.

“Let’s just say that this sounds awfully familiar to me … in a bad way.” Neil nods, giving me one last hug before starting to look for Max again.

And we leave it at that.

~

** David’s POV **

“Max!” I’ve been shouting for the raven haired boy all afternoon, and I hear no one call back. My voice starts to get scratchy, and my throat becomes sore over time. But I won't let that stop me from finding him. “Max where are you bud?” Still nothing. I walk around for a while, calling out his name. The only things interesting I’ve found are a really cute baby bunny, Neil and Harrison having some really intimate moment that looked private, and that same group of squirrels that tried to take over the camp (I had to run for my life).

“David! We’ve been looking for almost 5 hours now. Why don’t we call it quits for the day?” Gwen walked towards me with the rest of the campers behind her looking like zombies.

“We can’t give up hope now! Max can’t be out here alone at night!” I say, looking up to see the sun starting to set.

“Come on David. Give it a rest, kay’? We’ll find him tomorrow.” I’m not giving up until I find him. I don’t care if I get bitten by some creature, or if bears want to eat me for dinner.

“We’re staying out here too!” I look down again to see Neil, Harrison, Nikki and Preston taking steps forward. It would make sense that they would want to keep looking, Nikki and Neil are his best friends, Preston knows how to get under Max’s skin and Harrison is probably doing this for Neil.

“Okay you guys that's not happening. If anyones getting sick while looking for Max it’s David, not all of you little shits. Plus that would be a lot of paperwork I don’t feel like dealing with.” Gwen says, yawning. “Plus I’m hungry. We’re gonna go to the Mess Hall, and order a pizza okay?” I take one last look towards the forest before seeing that one path that I always tell the campers not to go on. Suddenly, I think I know where he is.

“Wait guys! I think I know where he is. Gwen, watch the campers and stay here while I look for a second.” Without even thinking, I run down the path shouting Max’s name hoping I hear something — anything — back. Max would go down here, he likes to not follow the rules. And if he just wanted to leave, this would be a perfect spot to go. I stop when I hear a call for my name, it sounds like his voice. Relief and hope are the two best feelings in the world to me, when I hear the shout.

“DAVID? DAVID IS THAT YOU?” The shout sounds distant, but I can hear it clearly.

“MAX! OKAY MAX I NEED YOU TO STAY WHERE YOU ARE OKAY? KEEP SHOUTING MY NAME UNTIL I FIND YOU!” I don’t care that I’m sweating, that I’m covered in dirt, or that I’m weak. I don’t care that nobody cares as much as I do for the blue hooded boy. Max’s voice calling my name is the only thing that matters, each yell filling me with more and more adrenaline.

I hear his voice coming from below a cliff, and I realized that this would be much harder than I thought. But when I look down, he’s there. Lying on his side, holding something that looks like a photo. Deciding to get help from the campers and Gwen, I rushed back to where Gwen and the campers were.

“I found him! I just need you guys to help me. Gwen, take Space Kid, Dolph, Nurf, Ered and Nerris back to the Mess Hall for dinner. They look beat. I’ll take Nikki, Neil, Harrison and Preston as help.” The campers and I were suddenly running, trying to get to Max as fast as possible. Once again, we’re at the cliffs edge. Luckily, the cliff isn't that high and Max landed on sand. So his injuries shouldn't be that bad.

“OKAY MAX, CAN YOU WALK?” I yell down to him.

“I’VE TRIED A FEW TIMES, BUT THEY WERE PRETTY MUCH UNSUCCESSFUL. FUK—FRICKING OTHER INGURIES AND NIKKI’S BITES PROBABLY MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THAT!” I looked at Nikki, but she already looked guilty enough.

“OKAY, CAN YOU TRY TO GET CLOSER TO THE CLIFF?” Max started to try and pull himself forward with his good arm, but nothing seemed to work.

“Wait!” Neil said, and all of our heads turned towards him. “Harrison, you made potatoes float yesterday, right? Do you think you could do the same for Max?” The idea was clever, but risky.

“I guess, but isn’t that really hazardous?” Harrison answered with another question, which I was probably the one meant to answer.

“It’s the only thing we’ve got. All or nothing, right?” I say, looking at Harrison. He nodded and stepped forward, staring at the horizon, and then down at Max. Raising his arms, Max started to float from the ground, getting higher and higher with each passing second. Harrison looked like he was using every ounce of strength he had, his breaths rough, like he was trying to catch onto every amount of air he had left. Suddenly, a yellow glow grew from his hands, and Max was almost at the surface. I grabbed his hand, pulling him into my arms, and the yellow glow from Harrisons hands went away, starting to catch his breath.

“You're safe!” Tears of joy spill from my eyes as I hug Max who looks like he’s in pain. “Wanna head to the Mess Hall for some pizza?” I ask everyone, which they all respond with variations of yes. That night ended on a happy note as they walked into the sunset, stomachs growling at the thought of sticky cheese and greasy pepperoni. But Max was still that little girl dressed in red, and two parents considered monsters lurked in the shadows.

They took the names of Peter and Monika, and they were getting ready for the perfect time to bite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if the ending doesn’t make sense or anything, this was getting really long and i didn’t feel like writing a that day lol.


	5. conversion camp — the pride month special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> when david and gwen come across another camp nurf was signed up for that they’ve been putting off, the campers aren’t happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I start the chapter, I would like to dedicate Max's trans storyline to one of the best friends I've ever had — Travis. I hope this doesn't sound really sappy or stupid, but, thank you for always being there for me. I'm so excited make even more memories with you when this stupid quarentine is over. 
> 
> also, i didn't edit this,,,, again.

**David's POV — 7:04 AM, 5 Days Of Camp Left**

I was sitting at the desk in the counselors cabin, shuffling through papers looking for Max's file. Since Max got injured, he's been sleeping soundly in my bed since last night. But Max also got injured, so I should probably call his parents. It's weird — I look at the tan folder more than you would think. The thick file of papers only contains three things filled out by them, and I had to get to know Max and use the check and phone number his mom called from to improvise some of the slots. I also had to fill out a growth worksheet for him, and update it everyday. The only things they left were his first name, age and a phone number. I should also find the plan for today. Max getting injured makes me determined to give him the best last few days of camp ever, even if it wrecks me.

Turning around to check on Max, I see him tucked in, under a thin blanket with my night log next to him. I couldn't sleep. After hearing that Neil heard Max's nightmares every night, I decided that I should probably stay up in case anything happens. Last night was fun though. After we found Max in the forest, Gwen ordered pizza and sent some of the campers to bed early. Preston and Harrison hesitated, but didn't want the provoke Gwen so they silently walked to their tent with their heads down. Nikki and Neil were difficult though, so Gwen let them stay up to have pizza with Max and I.

_"David, if you don't put me the hel— the heck down, I'll u-um burn the camp down!" Threats were getting really hard to make, especially when you're in the person's arms you're threatening., Max thought his and David's relationship was getting weirder and more emotional everyday. David was starting to give him more affection — simple head pats or putting a hand on his shoulder everytime he happened to walk past him. He also asked a lot about his home life, which meant David was smarter than he seemed. He was onto him. At this point, the plan turned from "convince David you were a happy kid with a nice family" to "convince everyone you're safe."_

_"Daaaaavvviiiddd my legs are still kinda useful!" Max tried to flail around his left leg, only to feel a bullet of pain shoot through his leg. Slightly wincing, he stopped flailing so he didn't hurt himself more like an idiot would. He wasn't an idiot, right?_

_"Okay Max, it isn't safe for you to be walking right now! It's either me picking you up, or somebody else picking you up which would result in me carrying both you and Nikki because she's the one that would volunteer for the position." Max groaned again, not from pain but from David's annoyingness. He still didn't completely know how David was so happy all the time, but Max knew for a fact he wasn't on drugs. He's gone through that shit hole they call a counselors cabin so many times, he would've found the pills by now. The only pills in there were Gwen's anxiety medication, some Advil, and kids fruit flavored chew pills for coughs and flu. David, Gwen, Neil and Nikki reached the counselors cabin, Gwen pushing open the door with her foot as she carried four boxes of pizza to the desk._

_The campers each got a plate of two slices sent to their tents with them so Max could have some privacy. Gwen and David both knew that if they didn't let them come with them to the cabin, they wouldn't hesitate to fight them with all their might. So they came in too, observant but happy, with their hearts heavy with all of the comfort and love they're ready to give._

_Gwen put the stacks of pizza boxes on the desk, running to grab the first aid kit. Nikki immediately shot for the pizza, but nobody stopped her. She grabbed a piece, and started munching on it. Strings of cheese conect from Nikkis mouth and the pizza, almost like an advertisement for it. Gwen pulled a chair up to David's bed, and David placed Max down on the bed, moving up a few pillows to let him get comfortable. As Gwen worked on fixing Max's leg and arm, the room was filled with laughter and the aroma of crappy pizza. David played indie music from his phone, which softly accompanied the loud conversation about whatever came to mind. Their favorite memories of each other, or stupid arguments they would never let go of._

_"Okay, okay. David! My CBFL! What's your favorite memory with Max." Nobody really thought of this question for him, but they were all curious about the answer — even Max himself wanted to know. There was one moment between them though, and David thought it was perfect._

_"Parents Day." Only him, Gwen and Max knew about that one, and would by all he would say unless somebody wanted him to say more._

_"What do you mean? Parents Day fucking sucked." Neil said, leaning forward with curiosity._

_"I know. It was no better for Max and I. But we had a bonding moment, and that's all I'm saying because it's private." David clasped his hands together, proud tears in his eyes as he took a look at Max. Neil and Nikki groaned, before turning their heads to Gwen, seeing a smug smile on her face._

_"Gwen knows! Gwen, you have to tell us! Pleaseeee?" Nikki said, jumping onto her lap and pulling on her shirt._

_"Actually Gwen doesn't know about the exact moment I'm talking about." Now David had a smug smile on his face, grabbing another piece of pizza and biting into it._

_"Okay David I told you that was a one time thing and will never happen again. But uh ..." Max coughed for a second, trying to get out what he was trying to say " thanks. For keeping it a secret." David smiled, looking at how much he'd grown over the year._

_"What did Max hug you or somfyhin—" David put a hand over her mouth, muffling her words as David rushed to change the topic, not wanting to blow Max's cover. The night ended with Gwen bringing Nikki and Neil back to their tents, and Max falling asleep against David's side. David smiled for a moment before scooping him up into his arms, taking his shoes off and tucking him into the bed. David shot Gwen a text to grab Mr Honeynuts on the way back, and she responded with a thumbs up. When Gwen got Mr Honeynuts and gave him to Max, she had one more question._

_"David?"_

_"Whats up, Gwen!" David responded, leaving his room as Gwen followed suit._

_"What was I not there for on Parents Day?" David dreaded this question, but Gwen would never leave it alone._

_David sighed before speaking. "When you went to start the car, Max hugged me. But if you tell anyone I told you that it'll get back to Max and he will kill me." Gwen's eyes widened, a smile on her face._

_"I knew it! The little shit likes your stupid hugs!" Gwen jumped a few times before saying her goodnights, going to her bed. David walked over to Max, before realizing that David had nowhere to sleep. He didremember something he should probably stay up for though. Neil's voice echoed through the back of his head. "Nik, he has nightmares every night."_

_He decided to stay up in case anything happens, walking towards the desk and going on his phone to text his sister to make sure she was doing okay.David checked on Max every 10 minutes to see him finally in peace, Mr Honeynuts placed perfectly in his hands. That night, they lived to forget in their dysfunctional group they call family._

_And Max didn't have a single nightmare that night._

David finally found Max's file, and skimmed through empty boxes to find his parents phone number. Pulling out his phone, he dialed his number and waited for one of them to pick up. When he got no answer, he tried again and waited. No answer. Trying two more times, he finally got an answer on the 4th try.

"What the fuck do you want?" Yup, definitely Max's parent, this explains his behavior. It sounded like a woman on the phone, with booming music and loud cheersin the background. Is she at a club?

"Yes! Hello, this is Camp Counselor David from Camp Campbell. Your son Max—" He got interrupted.

"Oh she's pulling that boy bullshit again? Her name is Maxine, she's actually a girl. I don't care about what that little shit did, or how she got hurt. She probably deserved it." I heard a long ring on the phone meaning that she hung up. I can't think straight. I take another look towards Max, paying attention to his facial features and thinking it through. Longer lashes and hair, fuller lips, the hoodie. It all adds up now. But I still can't help but feel like there's something missing — like when you complete a puzzle but discover you were missing a piece the whole time.

Max shuffles around under the blanket, his hand coming up to his face, rubbing his eyes as they blink a few times, getting used to the morning light. His eyes darted around the room, discovering that he wasn't in his tent but in here. "What the fuck are you staring at me for?" Max says. At least he's acting like himself again, which makes me happy.

"Oh! U-um nothing. How did you sleep?" Max hesitated for a moment, looking like he was about to say something but didn't. He sat up, once again rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes before speaking. I have to have this conversation with him, it wouldn't be fair to him or his parents.

"Okay ... um ... I called your parents." His eyes widened, mouth agape as he looked like he was trying to process what I was saying. Then everything about him turned cold, stuffing his hands in his pockets, grey clouding over his eyes. This reminds me of the first day of camp, or when the first day Max was here. He got dropped off 2 days earlier. At first, I thought they might have gotten the date mixed up, but now I think there's something else going on. Max forced a smile, his teeth clenched.

"Cool! What ... what d-did they say?" Max's eyes screamed and pleaded for help, but the rest of him tried it's best to stay stable, to keep lying, to be fake.

"Uh, they ... they said that they um .. that they love you very much and that they can't w-wait to see you!" David chuckled, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead. He was the worst liar.

"They didn't say that, David. What did they say?" Max asked again, tears glossing over his eyes as he kept a watery smile. This hurt. David didn't have the gut to tell the truth. But this was Max we were talking about, the truth would get to him anyway. He can't lie to him.

"It was your Mom, or I think it was. She was somewhere loud, and ... Max why was your Mom calling you a girl?" It's either Max is trans which is perfectly fine, or I don't even know. But I don't want him lying to me.

"O-oh! Moni— My mom is amazing! She just wanted a g-girl instead of a boy so she called me g-girls names! It's that." I got one thing from that:

That was the worst lie I've ever heard.

But pressuring someone to come out is worse, and I don't want to do that to him. So I decided to leave it alone, closing his file. "Okay, Max. Just know that I'm always here if you ever need to—"

"Yeah yeah what fucking ever. I'm going to the Mess Hall." Max got up, only to groan in pain as he fell back down onto the bed.

"Max you won't be able to walk for a few days. I'll make Quartermaster go to the drug store and get you some crutches, okay?"

"Okay. I just want some shitty potatoes. Let's get this over with". I let Max put on his shoes and I grab my clipboard with the plans for the day before picking him up, walking to the Mess Hall for breakfast.

~

"Uhhh Gwen? We have a problem." I shout from out table in the Mess Hall. After letting Max sit with Nikki and Neil, and making sure Quartermaster got Max some crutches, I sat down to look at the plans for the day that we scheduled before the camp year. Gwen and I have been purposely avoiding this one, and saved it for the end of the camp year. But here it is.

"What happened now?" Gwen asked, walking over to our table, her usual scowl on her face. I just had to hand her the clipboard for her to understand what's going on today.

**_Camp Schedule! :)_ **

~~_Thursday: Performing Arts, Campfire Night._ ~~

~~_Friday: Arts & Crafts_ ~~

~~_Saturday: Search and Rescue_ ~~

_Sunday: Conversion Therapy_

_Monday: Max's Camp_

_Tuesday: Counselling Camp_

_Wednesday: Swimming Camp, last full day of camp :(_

_Thursday: Pick Up Day :(_

"Fuck." This was bad. This was so bad that I didn't even correct Gwen for her language. "If nobody is here for Conversion Therapy why do we even have to do it?" Gwen asked, sitting down next to me. I can't do this, I'm pansexual, and it would just be wrong.

"Actually, Mrs Nurfington signed Nurf up for it. She said in his papers that it would make him man up. So, we have to do it!" I let out a whine, putting my head on the table. How am I even supposed to do this? "I thought Conversion Therapy was illegal."

"It is, but so is this whole camp." Gwen said, putting a hand on his head, giving it a few pats. Gwen was straight, so she didn't know what it was like. But she did know that she would beat up anyone that hurt David. It just looks so weird for him to not be smiling.

"Okay you shits! Here's the plan! Before I say what we're doing today, I have to warn you that it might be really offensive. Nurf got signed up for it and we kind of have to do it." Everyone groaned as I tried to put on a smile. It didn't work.

"What illegal scam are you trying to pull now?" Max said, looking tired as he picked at his potatoes.

"Well, Mrs Nurfington has some wrong beliefs—" I wanted to give Max the watered down version (knowing this would offend him.), but Gwen interrupted me, going straight to the point.

"Conversion Therapy. If any of you are LGBT+, please speak up now if you're comfortable with that, I'll give you a free pass and you don't have to participate today. Except Nurf — you were kind of signed up for it." There are three people I expected to speak up. Preston was obviously gay and Neil and Harrison have something going on based off of what I saw yesterday, even if they don't know about it. I didn't expect Max to speak up, if he couldn't admit to me he's trans earlier while we were alone he definitely won't now.

"Oh hell no. I'm not participating in this load of bullshit!" Neil said, standing up and walking towards Gwen. Harrison followed him, crossing his arms over his chest after using his magic to form a clump of Quartermasters special potatoes, lifting it in thin air and sending it towards me. The white goo met my cheek, and I wiped it off while eyeing Preston.

"Oh, I'm not for this at all. But this could make a beautiful, emotional, gut wrenching play! The agnst, the friendship, the forbidden love! Ah! I love it! So I'll participate for research purposes." I'm not surprised, that sounds like something Preston would do. The whole room erupts in an argument with Preston, saying that if he had an opportunity to get out of this he should. I don't really agree with Prestons motives, but I don't side with anyone anyway. I give Max a look, and he returns one full of bitterness and spite.

"The hell do you want, Camp Man?" Max says from the bench, about to move his leg before wincing. Quartermaster still has gotten back with those crutches.

"You sure?" I ask, nobody hearing us over the loud debate.

"I'm not gay, David, but seeing that your a wet pile of nothing the fact that you and Bonquisha didn't work out, I wouldn't be surprised if you were."

Ouch, that hurt.

"Okay Max, that wasn't very nice. But I wasn't talking about that." I say, hoping he knows what I'm implying. His eyes widen, looking a little hurt for a second. Maybe I should've phrased that a little differently.

"You sick motherfucker! I'm—I'm not—"

"Okay." I respond. Maybe that wasn't that best thing to do.

I feel guilt bubble in my gut, the kids walking out of the room, their loud voices and pleas for Preston to not make a play about this getting quieter and quieter as they walk farther and farther away from the Mess Hall.

"Gwen! How am I even supposed to run Conversion Camp!" I ask, running up to her while she's reading some romance novel. She slams the book closed, setting it down on the table she was eating at.

"Well, you could actually act like a normal person and just be mean? Talk about how putting a dick in a guys asshole is bad and not the same as putting a dick inside of a vagina? Easy peasy." Max looked a little off while saying this, wincing at what he was saying. He looked like he was remembering something for a second — an old memory — before shivering in the hot summer air. I wonder what that was. I didn't even remember he was sitting there until he spoke.

"Hey, language! And you and I both know that's not going to happen. Our campers including yourself are far too young and impressionable for that!"

"You cry whenever I make fun of your stupid face." Just like that, a few tears escape my eyes. Gosh darn it, why is he always right?

"It hurts my feelings!" I say, Wiping the streaks of tears from my face.

"You two are idiots." Gwen says, her eyes still on her magazine. "Just show the zit covered kids pictures of wigs and gay bars on fire."

"I don't think anybody but Preston would know why that's offensive." Max says. "You could just be an asshole and hit kids. P-Plenty of parents do that to their children. Most of the time, they deserve it anyway! Or they're parents a-are just monsters." Why did he know so much about child abuse?

"That doesn't make it okay—" Gwen cuts me off, finally getting up and sitting down next to Max.

"I have an idea for you. Just show them some videos that religious freaks use in churches! Those assholes make it family friendly but fucked up at the same time!" Gwen says, pulling out her phone, sparkles in her eyes. She could make fun of white Moms while watching these! "Holy shit I just found something perfect." She shoved the phone in Max and my face, seeing that it was an animated video about how Jesus said it wasn't okay to have two Moms, and used this metaphor where if you wanted to go on plane to heaven, you couldn't bring your gays like how you couldn't bring anything dangerous. 

"At least it's kid appropriate." Suddenly, a boom echoed throughout Lake Lilac, screams demanding justice for the LGBTQ+ community startling Max, Gwen and I. "Oh no."

And just like that, Max is on my back, and were rushing outside to see what the ruckus is. Opening the Mess Hall door, we see all of the campers with colorful signs in their hands. Nikki was throwing bombs at the Counselors Cabin. Prestons stage was erupted in flames, thick clouds of black smoke floating through the air. Gwen's panicking about the counselors cabin rung through the air, only to find that the bombs were filled with rainbow confetti. I'm actually proud of them, standing up for their fellow campers. They even got the Flower scouts and the Wood scouts. Sasha, Erin and Tabii were waving rainbow flags in the air, while the Wood scouts we're setting some of the little things on fire (like farm camp.) It was like their own mini pride parade, but with riots.

Quartermaster came out of no where with Max's crutches, and suddenly Max is off my back, joining the color filled air.

"Do you guys have trans flags?" The large crowd of campers start to applaud Max, Dolph quickly making one and joining back in with the campers. Screams and shouts for justice didn't stop, even the large flames that engulfed some of the camp's didn't stop them. Soot and ash covered their faces, determination and pride was what could describe what was happening in front of him.

"Looks like someone needs to make another decision. What are you going to do about this one, David?"

"Guys .. I don't want to do this either." I say, stepping forward to attempt to tame the protest,

"THEN WHY ARE YOU STILL DOING CONVERSION CAMP?" Nerris cried out from the back of the crowd, holding up a Non-Binary flag.

"I know this is hard—"

"OH CUT THE BULLSHIT." Neil and Harrison step forth from the crowd, hands interlocked as faces blended with disappointment and anger on their faces. "Shut your whore mouth, David! The whole camp basically hates you right now, what are you gonna do to fucking fix it?" My mouth is suddenly agape when I see their hands, and I'm wearing a proud smile.

"I see why your angry." The swarm of children agree in different variations of bored groans and grunts. "And your probably really disappointed in me."

"No shit!" Preston shouted. That was the first time I've ever seen him swear, and I'm not too happy about that.

"But Gwen and I were forced to do this. I feel really, really disgusting doing this. But if we don't then we're breaking the law. In fact;" I take a deep breath. This really inspired me to do something: come out to the kids.

"I'm a part of the community myself. I'm actually really proud of you guys for making this." The crowd gasped, the atmosphere filled with shock.

"So what are you gonna do to fix it? Because if you don't I'll get Daniel down here to sacrifice and do whatever the fuck he wants to you. Pretty sure that cultist freak is gay anyway." Max said, wrapping his new flag around his shoulders.

"Can ... can I join you? We don't have to do the Conversion Therapy. I'll talk to Mrs Nurfington about what happened." And then Gwen and I are in the crowd, Gwen wearing a happy smile, and Dolph making me a Pansexual flag. I look down at Max to see a small smile on his face, and that makes my whole day. 3.5 smiles turns to 4.5 when I kneel down to his level, whispering a small "I'm proud of you." to where I get a "yeah, yeah fuck off." as a response. But in the shining light of day, as the fires of rage burn out and the smiles were prominent on every campers face ...

Max was still smiling the whole parade.

_**\+ bonus** _

David sat in the counselors cabin that night, putting up photos of the parade that took place earlier that day on his "Memories" board. Going to sit back down at his desk, he saw Max's folder from earlier still lying there. A sad smile ghosted over his face as he took the thin file, opening it up to a specific sheet of paper. There was a sheet they filled out at the start and at the end of the summer. It was about that campers progress over the summer, and how they've improved or opened up. David had been putting off filling out Max's — something about it meant closure for something he never wanted to end.

But for some reason, he felt the need to get this down on paper. He was in an amazing spot with him, and he wanted to fill the piece of paper out while that was still accurate. He skimmed over the notes about the beginning of summer — how Max wasn't as excited about camp as the others, and that David was determined to show him the wonders of camping. He explained how Max could be cynical and definitely rebellious. But this note would be different. David was sure of it.

When he started writing, he couldn't stop. The note itself was huge compared to the others about of other campers. And when he read over what he read, he felt satisfied. He went to get changed into his night clothes, turning off the lamp that illuminated the room in a yellow glow. He hugged his night log close to his chest, entering his happy dreamscape while mumbling the names of trees in his slumber.

_Max._

_In the beginning of the summer, you were almost a completely different person. Your still who you were then: rebellious, cynical, mature— the list goes on. But in that first week of camp, I didn't really know you. Your so much different from what people assume you actually are. You're a good kid. Sure, you curse a lot, or you purposely try to challenge me everyday. But thats why I see so much in you. You care about me, the campers, the camp; and even though you might not show it — you've grown to be happier. You've made lifelong friends, made memories, and learned to smile once in a while. You slowly opened up, and I slowly got to know you better. And now, I don't think i could ever live a life without you. I'm happy I got to make you happy here at camp, even if it's hard to say. And one more thing:_

_I'm proud of you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: hahaha y'all this is the most happy chapter in the whole fic, and there were still sad bits in the one lol. also!!!! all of the pride flags and shit all the campers were holding are my lgbt head canons for them!! here is the list:
> 
> max: trans (obviously)
> 
> nikki: lesbian
> 
> neil: gay
> 
> harrison: pan
> 
> nerris: non-binary
> 
> daniel: i actually hc him gay just fucking look at him—
> 
> david: pan
> 
> preston: gay (again, you really just gotta look at him)
> 
> nurf: bi 
> 
> sasha: lesbian
> 
> ered: cool bi 
> 
> anyone i didn't mention is an ally or i forgot them!!


	6. I’m Just A Kid! — Intermission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> max breaks down over his past, he can’t get the flashbacks out of his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: this marks halfway through the book, and i wanted to write a little thing where max just cires a lot. this doesn't really relate to the plot too much, so if you want to skip this you can. but you do learn more about where he stands in this.

** Max's POV — 4 Days Of Camp Left, 2:30 AM **

Pacing around my empty tent, the only noice being my shaky steps and heavy breathes as I struggle to get a grip on whats happening around me. The rooms spins around me, my vision blurred as tears cloud over my eyes. Waking up from nightmares was always awful, but tonight felt so different as the comforting presence of Neil in his cot was gone. I would always wake up to soft snores and rustling blankets from next to me, but it suddenly disappeared. Would this happen when I went home?

_“You’re useless to us, you know that right? You can’t even obey us!” A slap echoed through out the cold and practically empty room that I never wanted to be familiar with. Monikas hand collided into my cheek, and I tried to stand still, but my shaking took over my whole body. She had never hit me before, that would have been the first and last time. I take one look into her eyes to see fear swimming in the same almost neon green orbs we share._

Like a thick blanket, flashbacks and memories of the past rushed through me. Every attempt to think of something comforting suddenly vanished; I stoped trying that ages ago. If nobody cared about me now, who would care about me in the future?

_“I just turned into your father.” Her voice was small, and her thin arms wrapped around my waist, uneven voices pouring variations of apologies, salty tears finding their ways into both of our shoulders. Me being 7 at the time, I never understood that she never wanted to be like him. Never wanted to be that monster she would always turn into. But as I grew older, she grew bitter. Wine always on the tip of her tongue, her footsteps were always clumsy and her words were always slurred. She never knew what she was doing until that night, when she was completely sober._

Where did it all go wrong? When did I become like this? Was Peter always this cruel? The questions never ended, pulling at my hair, tears landing on the thin tarp that covered the ground. Why am I like this? How did I get like this? My pleas for help, Monika’s need for a glass of alcohol in her hands at all times, Peter’s addiction to violence ... when did it all start?

_“You’ll never pass as a guy. You we’re born a girl, Maxine.” I was now 8, in the large kitchen, mixing together batter for my parents even they we’re going to have that night. Peter took a drag at the cigarette hanging from his mouth, my arm anxiously mixing the cookie dough in a baby blue bowl. Slapping my arm still, the bowl tumbled a bit before I felt a sting in my tan skin, Peter pressing the cigarette stick into my arm, small clouds of smoke rising into the air._

Hands thrusting through my hair, snapshots of my life intertwining with a nightmare flashed through my mind. Crystal streams still made their way down my cheeks, my head pounding and throat sore.

“I’m just a kid!”

My heart hurt, my eyes had deep black bags under them, my hair was shriveled. I’m tired. I’m so fucking tired. Tired of suffering in silence, tired of living a dream during the day, but dealing with monsters at night. While the children around me were oblivious to it all, stars dancing around them while fire crackles in front of them, smiles on their stupid happy faces as they chewed on s’mores and told silly stories, I was there to watch it all happen.

The screams, the cries for help, the scars to remind me of it all. Our lies make a beautiful symphony that will slowly tear everything apart. Sitting down on my cot, I curl into a ball, impulsively grabbing Mr Honeynuts, clutching him into my chest. Mixings of snot, saliva and tears stain the old teddybear that’s barely staying together by a few threads.

“I’m just a kid ...”

What ten year old deals with abuse like this? What ten year old goes through hell so young? What ten year old falls asleep to their own yearns for someone just to care, for a hug, for anything but the monsters they live with.

What ten year old lives like me?

“I’m just a kid.” Playing with the broken seams hanging from the rip in my jeans, I start to catch my breath, feeling a little tired.

“I’m just a kid.” The final whisper of the night makes my eyes snap shut, preparing me for another nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: fun fact! monika is based off of my mom. peter is a character i came up with from my own imagination, but i’ve always wanted to write something related to my mom, and found this to be a perfect opportunity.


	7. damn it, we scheduled max’s camp today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> when david and gwen find out it’s max’s camp today, they struggle to cover that up with odd camps and topics children don’t need to learn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter: absolute trash! it's the last filler chapter, woohoo! after this chapter, it's all angst. also, pretty much everyone's favorite character is in this one. it's also kind of long too!
> 
> ⚠️ Child Abuse, Language, Nightmares, Alcohol, Mentions of Gore, Cults, Murder, Violence (oh look! it's obvious who's in this chapter!) Implied Self Harm, Suicide, (Max doesn't kill himself, don't worry) Disturbing things happen to Max in flashbacks and nightmares, please be aware of this before reading! ⚠️

**David's POV — 4 Days Of Camp Left**

"Oh no." Gwen said, staring down at the clipboard that held all of their plans for the summer. Her eyes were stuck on one particular line of words, pretty much speechless. It's still early morning, and sometimes we'll wale up a little before the campers to get ready and look over what we have planned. I walk towards the desk, looking over Gwen's shoulder, my eyes going down the line of activities until I finally find today: Max's Camp.

"Oh golly, what are we even going to do?!"

"Well, we don't really have many options. We could just tell him and see what he wants to do?" Gwen suggested. I pull up another chair, the two different kinds of wood scraping together with a loud scratch. Gwen's eyes fell to the desk, seeing Max's file. I guess I forgot to put that away. "Why is Max's file out?" She asked.

I sit down on the chair, slouching into the desk. "I was filling out his progress sheet."

"I thought we filled those out last week or something," Gwen said, flipping through the thin file with very few papers until she found it. "Why did you write so much about him compared to the other campers? I mean, I knew he was your favorite but damn."

"Well, I kind of just kept on writing—"

"Aww!! You sound like a parent, talking about opening up!" Gwen read the paper over, ignoring the problem at hand. Maybe she could get some kind of writing inspiration out of this!

"Gwen! We kind of have a problem here!" I say.

"Yeah yeah, but the little shit won't care. He'll call it dumb and tell us to do whatever the hell we want. It's Max for fuck's sake. Mini satan will cause trouble today either way." A part of me would feel bad for doing this. What if he actually wanted us to do a camp of some type for him? Still, he probably wouldn't tell us the truth about what he wants anyway, and both options would still have the same outcome. 

"Okay fine. But if we hurt his feelings, that's on you." We both get up, preparing to get ready for another amazing day at Camp Campbell.

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**Max's POV**

_I'm back in a cold, empty room that I live in during my dreams. I never want to be familiar with this room, I never want to have the same dream every night, But here we are. The white walls are so dark yet bright in the night, moonlight shining through the small window. The quiet is so loud, I can't even hear Peter's heavy boots or crickets outside. The silence was nice for a few moments, but the longer I anticipated the kick, the noise of yelling or the door slamming shut. The ghost of the punch, the memory of his hot breath tickling my ear, yelling insults that I learned to believe, where did it all go?_

_Falling into an abyss of silence, something didn't feel right. The stillness in the room, the occasional gust of wind, the hardwood floor under my thin, shaky legs. My arms brushed against the floor, looking for Mr. Honeynuts, the only thing I could be completely sure of. This dream was supposed to never change, I was supposed to be prepared for what happened. But after lying there for hours, the icy eyes and wicked grin never came._

I wake up to the perfect view of my tent ceiling, not feeling the usual wetness from my eyes I usually do from waking up. Turning to my side, I still see that Neil isn't there. I wonder where he went last night? Maybe to some other fuckers tent. Whatever, I'm not supposed to care anyway. Getting up, my feet are a little wobbly at first, regaining my steps as I slowly wake up. The air around me is muggy, my hoodie slightly sticking to my arm. I walk up to my coffee machine, grabbing my mug and brewing myself a fresh cup of what I like to call liquid cancer.

Taking a few sips of the bitter substance, I slip on my shoes and step out of the tent, my eyes adjusting to the sunlight around me. Bright blue painted the sky, the sun dipping between the clouds. I trudge to the Mess Hall, my feet crunching through leaves, my stomach lowly rumbling for a small serving of Quartermaster's shitty potatoes. The past few days have been too dramatic and filled with stupid fucking emotions, I don't want today to be like that.

Opening the door to the Mess Hall, the room has the usual chaos. My (sadly) fellow campers talking quietly amongst themselves about whatever comes up in conversation, small giggles, or friendly banter scattered around the room. I walk over to the Quartermaster, getting my serving of potatoes scooped up from out of a pot and slapped onto a plastic tray. Heading towards my table, I see the new addition of Harrison and Preston.

"Hey Neil, what are those two fuckers doing here?" I ask, plopping down on the bench next to Preston, getting comfortable. "Also where were you last night? I thought you like; died."

"O-oh! I was a-at the lake?" Neil said it almost like a question.

"Wow Neil, I haven't heard such a truthful statement in my whole life!" A blush rose to Neil's cheeks, stuttering as he tried to come up with a response. Priceless. He probably snuck out to see Harrison last night.

"Oh, Max! We were planning on tying the Quartermaster to the fan again, wanna join?" Nikki asked from across from me, her words muffled as she stuffed her face with the white mush. Her eyes snapped down to my tray, seeing my fork tooling with my food, shyly adding a "Can I eat that?" I shove the tray towards her, and she's stuffing her face again, some potato getting on her cheek,

"Hell yeah. That last time we did that was priceless, and David's reaction; holy shit! I just don't want another Quartermaster Appreciation day."

"Me too. That shit was gross." Harrison said.I turn my head to the side to see Preston's unsure eyes lingering on me. I give him a confused look, and he turned away.

"The fuck do you want?" His posture straightened, he brushed a strand of his hair behind his ear, gulping as his nervous eyes found mine. "Seriously, are you okay dude?"

"Do you want my food? You barely ate." Preston asked, gently nudging his plate towards me. I'm not really hungry, thinking about Quartermaster can do that.

"I'm not hungry." I say, giving his tray back to him. "Thinking about the Quartermaster ... just ..." I shiver, and he giggles. He looks like he's deep in thought, I wonder what he's thinking about.

"Okay." His head moves towards my ear to whisper something. "But if you need any food, I have a secret stash of pudding behind my cot. Only Harrison knows about it." That actually sounds really nice.

"Thanks." I whisper back.

Once again, The Mess Hall door opened to see David and Gwen standing on the other side, David with a wide grin and the Camp Campbell solute high in the air.

"Goooood morning Camp Campbell Campers! Are you ready to have another aaaamaaazing day at Camp Campbell?" Groans erupt from each camper, a scowl straining my face. Something is weird about this. Sure, David is somehow always some happy sap. But he's never this happy. What is he hiding?

"What the hell has you annoyingly cheery this nightmare of a fucking morning?" I ask. David awkwardly laughs, shooting Gwen what looked like a mix of an uncertain and nervous smile.

"Why that's an ... amazing question, Max! Also, watch your language." I roll my eyes at the request. His positivity suddenly seemed dry. Something is up, I know it. "Today we have lots of activities planned! We saved the ... special camps for today!" Special camps? What the hell makes the other camps special?

"What makes these camps special?" Nikki asked, finally finishing all of her food. I swear, I think she has at least 5,000 calories a day. Why does David even allow that? I thought he was afraid of diabetics.

"Well, these camps are things that maybe not you specifically will need from day to day, but could help anyone in dangerous or different situations!"

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" I ask. David was about to answer me before Gwen cut him off.

"Things we've avoided all year and randomly decided to do today. We'll give you little shits some time to eat the rest of your breakfast, but then we're starting. Deal with it." If they were avoiding camps, they would have mentioned it. Something's up, and I'm gonna find out what.

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"The first camp of the day is gun control camp! Today, we're gonna learn about how guns are very dangerous and the things you should do if you run into a situation with them." David gathered all of us at the stage, all of us sprawled across the bleachers, bathing in the heat as David stood on the stage, the projector on with a video on. It looks like it's from a TV show or something.

"David, why the fuck would I need to know about guns? And where's Gwen anyway?" I ask tiredly, lying on a bench and fanning myself with my hand, hoping to get some type of wind brush against my face.

"I actually don't know where Gwen is, but I'm sure she's doing something very productive! So I'm going to show you some scenes from a show Andi Mack! This show explored a cruel, cruel topic very gently while also getting the point across. The poor little boy in this scene was hanging out with his friends when they started to do dangerous things, like dirt bikes! And then it escalated to guns! After this, we're going to talk about what you saw in this video, and then we're gonna do some examples!"

This looks stupid. Throughout the episode, the only thing I got from it was this dude Cyrus had to report his crush to the police or something. David also showed us some scenes from the next episode in case we were curious about whatever the fuck happened to them (no one was). Not even Preston crying when main dudes idiot friends pushed him away from his love interest or whatever. It got super gay towards the end, Preston said that Cyrus and TJ (apparently, that's the name of the love interest) should have kissed. I said they should go fuck themselves.

"The only thing I got from that was that it was gayer than anything about guns," I say, finally sitting up, crossing my arms. I let out a bored sigh, shoving my hands into my pockets. "Seriously do they ever get together? I thought that was Disney Chanel."

"How dare you, Maximilian! That was beautiful! The angst, the chemistry, the forbidden love!" Preston was shouting, small tears falling from his eyes.

"Actually Max, this show made history! TJ and Cyrus are the first gay couple on Disney!" At least they get together. They probably don't even kiss though. Bummer.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. What was the point of that again? Don't shoot your friends and if you see someone with a gun, report it. Easy peasy." David frowned.

"Fine, I guess we'll move on to our next activity."

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

_**a/n: I see this upcoming part as a complete JOKE. I do not support maxvid or any underage ship. thank you!** _

"What are we doing in the Mess Hall?" Neil asked all of us scattered around tables, we were back in the Mess Hall. Gwen was here now, a laptop in her hands, pulling something up. David and Gwen seemed to be talking about something, mumbling about something being "too inappropriate" and "if we handle it gently, it could be okay." I heard the words sex ed and immediately got scared.

"Well, there is a camp that all of you — well most of you, but Max is mature enough to handle it — got signed up for that we haven't covered yet." David started, bring a chart up to the front of the room under his arm, a stressed expression on his face. I heard Nerris mumble 'oh no' from that, and I snorted.

"What could be so bad that has David shaking?" Nikki asked. "Oh wait, it's David. Never mind."

"This might be a very difficult subject but, here we go! When a man and women really love each other...."

"Way to stereotype" Harrison stated.

"Sorry! When two people really love each other —" David felt a lump in his throat but swallowed it down.

"Raise your hand if you know where this is going." Hands shot up into the air. Everyone raised their hand besides Space kid. He looked ... confused. He probably thought that babies were made in the spacetime continuum and we're delivered by tiny spaceships that flew into women's stomachs or something like that.

"As I was saying, they like to engage in a certain activity that's very intimate."

"David, I'm gonna be real with you. I thought you didn't even know what sex is. Why are you the one teaching us about this? Isn't Gwen the horny one?" David fell silent, a disappointed expression ghosting over his face. He took a deep breath, before putting on another happy facade. Pulling the chart out from under his arm, he put it on a wooden stand, and flipped through the pages until he mumbled 'aha!'.

"Do any of you know what this is?"

"It's a picture of a dick, dipshit."

"Do you know the names of the individual parts of the ... t-thing?" David started to look frustrated and visually uncomfortable.

"Why the hell would we know that?" This was gonna be a long day.

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"Okay! That's it! I can't do this anymore!" David was crying now, taking down the chart. He felt really weird teaching this stuff to kids too. If he were being honest, he didn't even remember sex ed. Why did Gwen even suggest that? "Gweeeen! I need a break!" He was rushing out of the Mess Hall after putting the chart on a dusty shelf in the closet.

"Hey Nikki, if were gonna suspend Quartermaster from the roof today, we should do it now." I say, getting up and brushing off my clothing from any dust.

"Good idea! Hey Neil, wanna join?" Neil was already out the Mess Hall door when we tried looking for him, weird.

"Eh, we don't need him."

i════ ⋆★⋆ ════

**David's POV**

A brilliant idea ... I think as I pace in the Consolers Cabin. A brilliant idea that won't fool Max, but could be fun! Sometimes, being a Camp Counselor is hard. The kids could be rude, and you run into every possible problem out there. But it's the most rewarding job I've ever had. Sure, I'm a teacher during the school year, but being a Camp Counselor is just so freeing. Every bunch of kids is so unique every year. Sure, almost no one stays for another, but this group gives me a warm feeling in my stomach.

No group has ever been like this one. We've gone through every possible adventure, learned every lesson, had every type of ice cream combo. I look up at the bulletin board next to my desk, seeing the 'thank you' letters, the photos, and the chart in the middle. Every smile I've seen from Max feels so rewarding. His eyes will sparkle with something that you don't see glint in his eyes often: innocence.

And golly, it makes me determined to be the best Counselor I can be. Even if it's only for a few more days. It's almost like the blue hooded boy with a mop of black hair changed my life when he walked down the steps of the rusty bus. Stepping into the middle of the room, rubbing my thumb across my chin, I try to think of an activity. I feel like I want to give people redemption, a second chance. An idea pops in my head, and I smile.

I shoot a blonde man with a crisp white suit a text, the first mistake of the day.

But of course, I didn't know that at the time, right?

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"OH HELL NO." Was the first thing I heard when Daniel stepped into the room an hour later. Before then, I had to stop Nikki and Max in the process of tying the poor poor Quartermaster to hang from the ceiling again and gather all the campers again.

"Seriously David? Are you fucking insane?" Max asked running up to me, pulling on my shorts as a way to get me to look eye level with him.

"Well Max, today I'm in the helping spirit. And that means helping out people as much as possible! Daniel has grown a lot! It's evident through his text messages." I say, grabbing Max's hand and giving it a squeeze before letting it go. "You know, sometimes he might need a friend." I felt Daniel snake an arm around my shoulder, and I smile. Sometimes, I feel like he towers over me even though we're the same height. It intimidates me and makes me have a nervous feeling swim around in my gut, but I usually ignore it. Probably not the best idea, but I ignore it.

"Yeah, Max! Even I want friends sometimes." Daniel said beside me, his smile taking over his face, and his eyes sparkling with lies. Give him a chance I think all people can change for the better.

"I thought you had friends at your stupid cult. And you're still wearing all white like; how the fuck am I supposed to trust you?"

David cracked his neck as he leaned to the side "Oh, I see. Well, it is unfortunate of you to think of me like that Max."

"Yeah yeah, whatever." He responds with spite.

"Okay, everyone! We'll take a small break in-between activities, and then we'll resume the day filled with fun!"

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**Max's POV**

I can't believe that David is such a fucking idiot could even have the balls to invite someone to our camp that he himself has said that he is insane. I swear, if they're fucking or something, please shoot me. They are way too smiley, I don't trust it. It's around 12:30 now, so most of the campers have formed a line in front of the kitchen waiting for food. I sat down at my table, my eyes tracing every dip and crevice of the wood out of sheer boredom.

Suddenly, a cup of pudding and a plastic spoon was slid in front of me, Preston's stern voice coming from next to me. "Eat." is all he said as he put his tray between the two of us. Two forks stood in the same mush, jiggling a few times when Preston slid his tray. "If you're not going to eat your own food, you're sharing with me."

"Preston—"

"Ah ah ah, you have to eat at least a quarter of that, then you can have pudding." He sounded like a decent parent for a second, it was kind of annoying. Still, it was nice that he cared about how much I ate. Nobody has paid attention to that before. I mumble out a thanks before I pick up one of the forks stuffed in the potato, scooping it up and slowly bringing it up to my mouth. I just left it there, slightly nibbling on the disgusting dish before Preston shoved it into my mouth, bringing out the fork clean.

"Do I have to force-feed you Maximillian? Because if I do, I'm going to be very disappointed in you." I respond with a chuckle, Preston laughs along with me, confirming that both of us think the is stupid. "Just eat your fucking food." Neil, Harrison, and Nikki walked over to our table, trays in hand.

"Hey Max, hey Preston! Wait, Max, wheres your food?" Nikki asked, sitting down across from me.

"Preston is forcing me to share with him so he makes sure I eat." Nikki frowns.

"Aw dang it, I was gonna eat your food. Neil, can I have your food?"

"No Nikki, you can not have my food," Neil said, munching on some canned carrots. He seemed awfully smiley today. I know him and magic kid has something going on, it's probably that.

"Awww but I won't have enough food~" Nikki and Neil get into an argument about how Nikki eats the amount a bear does every day and how she needs to start eating her own food. My argument is that she already passes as one. I slowly eat the mashed potatoes in front of me, Preston has a proud smile on his face.

"Hey guys, Am I the only one that thinks David is acting weird? Like he's hiding something?" Everyone's heads turn to me, Harrison shrugs.

"I don't really know. I think David and Gwen are just running out of camps to do so they're coming up with weird ideas?" The Israeli boy said, stealing one of Neil's carrots.

"I mean, that could be it. But it was specifically today, if they were running out of camps it would've been evident for the past few days." Neil shoved his food away from Harrison.

"Doesn't David have a clipboard of all of the activities for the week? I thought they set it up before the summer started." Nikki said. It can't be that they ran out of activities.

"Maybe if I steal the clipboard, he could be hiding something! Who's with me?" The table fell silent. "Are you kidding me?"

"Are you sure that this is a good idea? I don't think David leaves that thing alone." Preston asks. "Also, here's your pudding."

"Fine, if you guys won't join me, I'll do it by myself. And keep the pudding, Preston." I get up from the table, walking out of the Mess Hall. If I want to be stealthy, I have to head to my tent first. It'll make it look like I'm grabbing something (technically, I am). Then, I'll check in the counselor's cabin. If it isn't there, I don't really know. It's probably with David. In that case, I'll have to get him away from it.

Walking to my tent, I head small mumbles. The hell? I rush towards my tent, only to hear an "Awww the little shit has a bear! Maybe I can use this ..." My steps get faster, basically running to my tent. I open the flaps to see Daniel going through my stuff, Mr Honeynuts limp in his hands. "Woah, he has a knife. I wonder what he does with that."

"You— You pervert! Why the fuck are you going through my stuff?" I yell, trying to snatch Mr. Honeynuts out of his grasp. Daniel held it higher and higher above his head, taunting me.

"Oh Max, I'm no pervert! I was just going through your things to find anything to use against you! And look!" He grabbed the small bears arms, flailing them around. He made a mocking voice for the treasured bear in his hands "It worked!"

"Give him back!" I tried to climb on him, tugging onto his white dress pants and pulling myself up, but my efforts were useless. "Please I'm begging you!" I wrestle down tears, reaching out my arms in a grabbing motion. Daniel pulled out a knife, grazing it against the gentle skin of the bear. "No, please Daniel I'll do anything! ANYTHING!" A wicked grin glowed on Daniel's face. The tears, the cries for help, the pain his victims went through was a drug to him. And he finally got the revenge he wanted on the person he'd been chasing for ages.

A stab to the poor bear was only an example of what he would do to Max. Stuffing coming out of its skin, pouring out onto the tarped dirt. He could imagine the beautiful sight in front of him: Max's dead body with oozing dark crimson spilling from his body, watching the color slowly drain from his face, his heartbeat becoming a flat line. "Oh, you poor thing. Who knew you could look so hopeless?" He kneeled down in front me, stroking my cheek with venom in his eyes. My body shivered, flinching from the gentle yet rough touch.

"That's about to happen to you. Do you know all the pain you've caused me?" There wasn't a single crack in his neck, or a twitch his eyes. I just stood there, awaiting my death. It's fine. Nobody cares about me anyway, I'll go back to Peter and Monika in four days. There's no point. It's funny. So funny, that a chuckle escapes my lips. Then another, and another: I'm laughing, the pain becoming so worthless. I could've just killed myself ages ago, what's the point of being afraid of him? How am I such an idiot? I had a knife with me the whole time. I'm laughing, tears stream down my face.

But it's not funny.

"Wait ... what? Why are you laughing?" Daniel's voice was now quiet.

"Go on, kill me." I wipe the wetness from my now red cheeks. "None of it matters anyway. My so-called family abuses me, nobody cares enough to save me. So why don't I just save myself?" Oh, this was way too easy, Daniel thought.

"Okay! Xeemüg will be proud of you." I smile, I'm finally at peace. Daniel will dispose of me in the woods, it won't matter. He swings his knife high in the air, almost bringing it down before David's voice rings through the air.

"MAX!!!!!" The tent flap opens, Daniel drops his knife. I frown, my one-way ticket out of here gone. David pushes me behind him, his arm shielding me from the unstoppable force named Daniel. He sees the knife on the floor and Daniel's position. Before doing anything, he gathers the pieces of Mr. Honeynuts, putting them into my hands. He makes a mental note to fix him later tonight with Max. 'It could be a bonding activity' he thinks. Then, he turns back to the task at hand, looking Daniel in the eye.

"Get the fuck off my camp."

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"Okay campers! I know bringing Daniel in here wasn't the best idea, and I'm sorry. But we can still have fun today! Now that he's gone, we can do debate camp! Pick a topic to argue about, and we will have people vote about who's opinion they agreed with! The person with the most votes get's ice cream!"

There were two stands on Preston's stage. In one place stood Neil, and in the other stood Space Kid.

"I'm going to go first because I clearly rule above you on an intellectual level," Neil says. "And I want our topic to be David being a stupid fucking bitch." Gasps chime from the crowd, I clap. "David invited some cultist freak into our camp and processed to do nothing when he almost killed Max a third time. He could've killed all of us!"

"I would like to object—" Space kid asked before getting cut off by Neil stuck in his rage.

"Shut your whore mouth, Space Kid!"

"Okay, whatever you say Neil." Space Kid responded, a little intimidated by Neil's outburst.

"I say we let us be in charge, that we rebel! We could go to the flower scouts!" Some campers started cheering, some stayed quiet.

"Guys, I don't think that's necessary, there are only 4 more days left of camp anyway!" Nervous sweat beaded on David's head. He knew he could easily stop them, but he was more uncomfortable with all the campers hating him. Gwen came up from behind him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Why don't I take care of this and you go take a break, okay?" He returned a small nod and smile — you can't stop smiling — walking towards the Counselors Cabin.

And this was the perfect time to strike. When David's vulnerable, he's honest. Extremely honest. He'll go far enough to be negative and not be upset about it. So if I ever want to find out what's going on, I have to talk to him now. Taking a look at Gwen, I saw that she was distracted by the Campers. Taking careful steps away from her, I'm now on my way to the truth.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

I knock on the door a few times, waiting for David to answer.I hear large footsteps, and the door swings open to a crying David. Realizing I'm not Gwen, he quickly swipes away the tears under his eyes, looking down and meeting my gaze with a smile so big it was obviously fake. It kind of makes me feel bad, how many times has he faked being happy for us campers?

"Hey, Max!! Is something wrong?" I stepped into the cabin, David closing the door behind me. If I want a good answer, I can't be a little shit. So I collect myself and how I'm going to do this before speaking.

"Yeah, uh you don't have to answer this ..." I feel bad for the guy, he genuinely doesn't have to answer this at this point. "But uh. I kind of felt like you were hiding something or like... covering something up the whole day. I don't know if that's true but ... could I know?" David blinked a few times, trying to come up with the best possible answer. He thought he should just tell the truth, so he did.

"I think you know that before each summer starts, we schedule our activities right before the summer and before we know the kids? It was still before you were dropped off early." I nod. "Well, today was supposed to be your camp. We didn't know if you were going to tell us something you wanted to do or to screw off, so we just tried covering up by doing other activities we didn't bother doing all summer."

Oh.

That wasn't what I was expecting.

"But I want to make it up to you. Do you have a camp you want to do? Even if we haven't done it yet, or it doesn't exist, we can make something work!" An idea sparks in my mind. Telling the idea to David, he looks happy and normal for David again. I gather a certain pair of shoes from my tent, David gather's the campers and brings them to the Mess Hall.

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**Third Person POV**

"Okay campers! I need all of you to take off your shoes, leave on your socks! Our final activity of the day is special!"

"Why is the anymore cooler than the others?" Ered asked. "And why is Max not in here?"

"Have you guys ever wondered what Max's camp is?" David asks.

"I thought he never got signed up for a specific camp. Like, didn't he just get dropped here or something?" Nikki asked.

"That's actually correct, but we gave him a camp! You can come out now, Max!" David rushed to the tables where the campers were. He moved the tables to one side of the room so there was enough room for this. Max opened the Mess Hall door, wearing shiny black tap shoes. Doing shuffles into the room, he also had a black cane that curled on the end. With a large smile on the face, he did a few double time steps and a buffalo to finish it off.

"Max! Your ... smiling?" Neil asked, his mouth agape.

"All the best tap dancers smile during their routines, no matter how much they hate it. All of you, get the fuck up! Today you're learning tap 101. All of you will fall on your asses, it will be amazing! Now, who wants to bet on the number of people that will either twist, sprain or break their ankle today?" Everyone moved to the center of the room behind Max.

"Now, let's dance."


	8. the calm before the storm.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the whole day is a whirlwind of emotions and not wanting to let go of everything for max. it’s almost like everyone is starting to quietly say goodbye. the day is calming, until something happens in the middle of the night that no one expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⚠️ Huge trigger warnings: Implied Past Rape, Abuse, Child Neglect, Language, Suicidal thoughts, Past suicidal actions, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, and pretty much every warning in the book. Disturbing things happen to Max (and for Harrison implied) through flashbacks and nightmares (especially in this chapter), please be aware of this before reading. ⚠️
> 
> i would just like to say something! i've tagged this maxpres on ao3, because there are undertones of it. max is ten, i headcanon preston as 12 they aren't going to be in a full on relationship. compare the neilson and maxpres in this fic to the annoying pre-k weddings you had but they're older and a little more serious— they have cute lil elementary school relationships where they hold hands and hug. that's it. another thing!!! dadvid is the main focus, not a ship. thank you!

this is unedited! i need to get this chapter up, and if you actually wanted to read this you wouldn’t care lol. sorry!

** David's POV — 3 Days of Camp Left, 1:23 AM **

Gwen sets a flame to the last candle in the mess hall, dimly lighting the room as Neil, Nikki, Gwen, Harrison, Preston and I sit at one of the tables, hot chocolate providing warmth for our cold hands in the summer night. All of us look like a wreck. Hair sticking up in random places, mis-matched pieces of clothing bunched up in random places. Camp Campbell was a weird like that. The night would get cold, shivers would crawl down you're spine, you're teeth would clatter. But during the day. you're skin burns and gets painted a light pink.

"I think we all know why we're here. Usually, I wouldn't allow this but ... it's important. Really important." A few people nod, I take a deep breath and continue."Max is in trouble. Lots of trouble. He's hiding it and ... if he's not safe, we need to get him out of whatever thing he's hiding."

"Nikki and I have talked about what we know. I've also talked with Harrison." According to Neil, Harrison said that he wanted to help out and that he might know what it is. I allowed it, we need all the help we can get. As far as i'm concerned, Space Kid, Dolph, Ered, Nurf and Nerris don't know anything. I decided that it was better if they went to bed. Obviously, if Max was here it would ruin the whole plan. We kept him in bed too.

"I don't know too much about Max, but the hoodie and cynical attitude is really suspicious. I've never seen him take off that thing and its summer." Harrison added. Harrison wasn't in his usual magic attire. Instead, he wore a black hoodie with yellow accents, grey sweatpants and yellow socks. His hair tied up in a messy ponytail, and his top hat was gone. "Plus this looks really similar." Wait ... similar?

"Harrison, what do you mean by similar?"

"I'd prefer to not elaborate on that." That conversation isn't over, I think to myself.

"Neil have you ever seen Max out of his hoodie?" I ask, taking a sip out of my hot chocolate, then carefully placing it on the table, the marshmallows that once swam around in the hot liquid melt into a swirl of white. The new heat burnt my tongue, I ignore it.

"Yeah, there was a really hot night and he couldn't sleep in his hoodie. But it was pretty early in the summer, so I never bothered looking closely at his arms or anything. Why?" We have no proof of self harm or scars, which is bad. But Neil is right, if he did have abuse scars, they wouldn't be too visible. He hasn't been back there in three months, so there wouldn't be any bruises. Any self harm would be visible unless he was really careful about showing his arms, which would be the case if he had anything to hide, (clearly, he does.)

"Okay. Have you guys noticed anything off about him? Like, not Max-like." This could be really helpful.

"He's been losing weight in a bad way. I try to get him to eat, I moved to his table yesterday and noticed him eating nothing. I forced him through half of my potatoes, and I purposely got Max's tray — which we all know is smaller." Mentally thanking Preston for knowing Max a lot, I wait for something else.

"Whenever I touch him, or tackle him or anything, he does this weird ... flinch? I'm not completely sure, but it's something like that." Nikki doesn't look as happy as usual. In a red oversized sweater and black gym shorts, dark circles drained her usually peppy face. Neil looks like he's hesitant about something, opening and closing his mouth a few times. His eyes look glossy, and he can't look any of us in the eye. Folding his arms on the table, he tucks his head on top of them. Neil was the closest with him, nobody questions his tears.

"One night, I was awake." His voice cracked, holding back a sob. "Harrison's magic trick. H-he was having a-a-a nightmare ... I didn't know what to do. I j-just stood there. He held onto this bear and h-he was crying a lot. I didn't know what he was dreaming about and ... I didn't know anything bad was going on then."

"My biggest regret is never asking him if he was okay, or if anything was happening." Handing him a box of tissues, I resist the urge to snap right there and then. I want to break something, or scream, or destroy whatever is causing this with my bare hands. But I take a deep breath, and stay strong. For the campers, I have to stay strong.

"The bear. That bears really fuckin' important to him. I think it's name was Mr. Honeynuts? He also never swims, or does any activity involving him to take off that goddamn hoodie." Gwen says from next to me, slouching into the table. She completely discarded her hot chocolate, everyone has.

And then Harrison voices a thought I always ignored. A thought that always tickled the back of my mind. A thought that the voices in my head always echoed. I was always too selfish to pay any mind to it, I never wanted to deal with one of my campers go through such horrors. But now that everything is in-front of me, it all makes sense.

"Child abuse." he says softly. "It's child abuse. I don't know what else it could be." I remember parents day, the phone call with his Mom, my relationship with Max in general. Any moment leading up to now. The puzzle was finally complete. I get up, deciding that the camp I had planned tomorrow could work for getting a peep out of him.

"Come on kids, I'll walk you to your tents." Looks full of endless regrets duplicate on each campers faces, not a single word said after that. The only thing heard through the quiet night were the cries of two boys. One was from a man with a heart heavy with happiness. The other from a little boy with broken dreams.

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** Max's POV — Around 8:00 AM. **

_The wind is knocked out of me when I'm shoved up against my white walls, the ends of the paint crumbling, a few stray pieces of the clay-ish texture get into my hair. l don't get a second to take a breath, to recognize my surroundings, to blink. Blue orbs burn into me, every punch, kick, slap ... it stings. My body flares up in pain, it almost turns into a numbing feeling._

_"Oh, how I missed doing this." He chuckles out innocently, as if he was meeting up with an old friends for drinks. I feel another punch. I pull myself up against wall, Peter watches me rot in the cool winter air. I cough into my arm, crimson sprinkling freshly beaten skin._

_"P-Please ..." A string of warm blood drips from my nose, the salty taste whispers on my lip._

_Another laugh slips through his cracked lips. Moonlight highlights his features, shadows forming over his forehead. Somehow, his eyes and grin still shine._

_"Oh, you poor thing." He leans down, his face getting closer to mine. Hot breath leaves tingles on my face, a soft but threatening tone closing the nightmare as he caresses my cheek._

_"That was just the calm before the storm, Maxine."_

I don't wake up gasping for air, or sobbing. My eyes just snap open to the sight of my tent ceiling. A soft breeze tickles the papery tarp, swaying back and forth in a small motion. I suddenly wish my thin blanket was more, my hoodie not enough to prevent goosebumps rising from my arms. Rolling to my side, I see Neil in the process of getting back into bed.

"Shhh Max ... go back to sleep." I feel my eye lids fall shut.

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Sun leaking through the thin crack between the tent flap wakes me up, Blinking a few times, I gain my eyesight back, sitting up. I look next to me, seeing that Neil was already out of bed. Deciding to get up, I go to the end of my bed to slip on some shoes. Hugging Mr. Honeynuts one last time, I place him on the edge of my bed, leaning up against my two pillows. Since everyone knows about him, don't bother hiding him. David was nice enough to fix him last night, I had to help him out though. He said it was a bounding activity.

I step out of the tent, and the sun immediately leaves my eyes tearing up. I blink a few times, trying to get use to the newfound light before walking to the Mess Hall. The air felt muggy, everything around me was burning to the touch and it was only the morning. If this meant that I had to spend all day inside with David, then it's gonna be a bad day. I open the Mess Hall door, and a gust of cool wind brushes against my face, making me smile. I close the door, and walk to my table.

"Hey Max!" Surprisingly, the food for breakfast today isn't shitty potatoes. Quartermaster made pretzel melts. A soft pretzel with melted cheese and ham in the middle like a sandwich ... even I eat them when the rare occasion pops up. Everyone is a heathen on those days. Nikki ate five in one meal, and she's only one person. Usually, we have them for lunch but I'm not complaining. I grab my tray with two pretzel melts and sit down next to Preston.

"Hey Nik. So, what are we gonna do today?" I took a small bite out of one of my pretzel melts, Preston eyes look like they have stars in them when he sees this.

"You ... willingly ate? AH! MAX WILLINGLY ATE! I'VE NEVER BEEN SO PROUD!" Preston pulls me into a hug, and my heart skipped a beat. I ignore it.

"Oh shut your trap, Preston. Pretzel melts are decent and we never have any decent food here. These should be the Quartermasters specialty if I'm being honest." Preston is starting to care too much about me, but if I'm being honest it feels nice. Nobody has ever cared about me besides the stupid people at this shitty camp. I shouldn'tl get used to it. In two days, I'm back at Peter and Monika's house. I shouldn't get use to this. But at the same time, I do.

"Well, I was thinking we just ... I don't know ... relax today!" Neil says, nervous smile on his face, a drop of anxious sweat dropping from his forehead. The fuck is up with that?

"Yeah, I kind of want to enjoy my last few days of camp." Nikki adds. This is off. Nikki and Neil always want to cause trouble. Is something weird going on today?

"What the fuck guys. You always want to cause trouble and shit, the hell is going on?" Neil hums, and Nikki scarfs down another pretzel melt. David and Gwen walk through the Mess Hall door with tired expressions, especially David. The bastard is still smiling though. He yawns before speaking in the most energetic tone he could muster.

"Good morning everyone! Gosh, I might need some coffee." He mumbles, walking to the Quartermaster. "Oh yay! It's pretzel melt day! Could I have three pretzel melts and a small coffee with lots of Splenda?" The Quartermaster and David spark a conversation about the days plans. By now, the subject about our plans has shifted to something else.

"Oh you adorable but clueless thing." Harrison says to Neil. "Just because I'm dating you, doesn't mean I'm changing my opinion about magic!" Neil and Harrison's relationship is unsettling. Neil is 12 and Harrison is 13 but they both act like an old married couple. They fight about magic and science all the fucking time and it's gonna drive me insane.

"My god I would rather see you two sticking your tongues down eachothers goddamn throats than hear this argument." Neil and Harrison go red, stopping their banter. Slowly going back to eating, Preston starts to talk about what his school musical could be this year. Since he's going into sixth grade, he can do something more advanced or whatever. Preston, Nikki and Neil all go to the same school. I'm in some private school that Peter sends me to (he's rich) and Harrison lives a few towns away.

When Monika turned 18 and I just turned four 4, she had to make ends meet by becoming a striper. She met Peter, and he wanted her there so whenever he needed a good fuck, she was there. He moved her into maids quarters and I got an empty room of my own. He gives us the bare minimum, and the price he had to pay was the abuse he puts us through.

"Max? You zoned out. Everything okay?" Preston waves his hand in-front of my face, trying to get me to snap out of my trance.

"I'm fine." I say harshly. "I feel like something's ... off. I don't know." I take my cup of orange juice off of the table, leaving behind a liquid ring that stained the table. Taking a sip, I put it back down patiently wait for David to speak about todays activities or something. It better not be a fucking waste of my time, since it's the second last full day or whatever the fuck you wanna call it.

"Alrighty campers! We do a thing at Camp Campbell, where at the end of the summer, we talk about how much you've grown this summer through a one on one chat with me! Gwen will be keeping an eye on you kiddos while I pull one of you aside for 20 minutes to talk about things you've learned! After that, tonight we'll he having a fire with s'mores! How fun does that sound?" Awful. That sounds fucking awful.

"Do you even realize that Daniel did exactly that and it lead to me almost getting murdered?" I ask, munching on some ham from my pretzel melt.

"Oh, I forgot about that! Let's try to steer away from that conversation." His eyes fall onto the gooey sandwich in my hands and smiles. Oh, fuck him. "This has been a Camp Campbell Camptivity since I was a camper just like yourselves! If anyone is copying anything, Daniel would be copying our activity."

I never even asked, but whatever. At least we get s'mores. 

"Now remember, the sessions will be spread out across the day. So if you need anything, I will be set up in the spare tent next to Nerris and Nikki's tent! Have a great day. I'll see you soon, and Campe Diem!" Then the door was shut with a "bang!" echoing throughout the Mess Hall. We slowly go back to breakfast while David sets up his therapy sessions or whatever. Gwen is reading a magazine in the corner, and who the hell knows what Quartermaster is doing.

"Okay, you seriously don't want to fuck this whole thing up? We can hang the platypus instead of Quartermaster." I swear, if they say no to this—

"Nah i'm good. Preston is making a play about the whole summer. He's doing casting soon!" Harrison said, looking over Prestons shoulder only to be swatted away.

"Get out of my hair, Harrison! I need to make this play perfect! Now, how can I make this angsty but still based off of real events in the summer at the same time..." Preston was scrunching up his face, concentrating on the book in front of him as his pencil moved swiftly across crisp white paper. I mean, there was Parents Day. Theres no way I'm going to tell him about that though.

Everyone around me talks about that it's all ending. Every musical has it's closing number. I let wonderland take me on a waltz of fuzzy memories and smiles and every happy tear I've ever shed. Around me, in this moment, everyone is at peace. Nostalgic faces that silently say goodbye over tables scattered with crafts and stray pieces of memories. I'm trapped. Trapped in the space of my mind, forced to take a deep, satisfying breath. But it's torture. A low song plays in the background, haunting me of my past that seems to catch up with everything.

But I've never been so happy. I hate that I'm so happy. The scent of pine lingers in the air, the freeness, the sound of laughter and chaos and energy and the innocence of being a kid had taken over, making the summer that felt so long feel like a dream. I'm up in the clouds, I'm in heaven but hell is still there. In just two days. In two days I leave wonderland. In two days I go back to Peter and Monika. In two days, all I'll be is a whisper of an awful person on photos and items. Everyone will slowly forget me, I'll never forget them like I'm clinging onto something.

I always thought what happened to me was normal until I was 6. Innocence turned into anger, anger with everything. Nothing seemed to get better, so why should I be nice? But now I've never been so tempted to say I liked, loved the place they sent me to rot. I want to give Nikki, Neil, and Preston a hug, I want to stay in touch with Gwen. I might (might!) want David to tell me everything's gonna be okay. But if everyone that matters disappears in just a few seconds ...

Maybe I'm not ready to take hells hand.

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** Preston's POV **

Eventually, Max get's up from our table. Over the past few hours, grey clouds have rolled in the sky, everything a little dark. We we're told by Gwen to stay in the Mess Hall as a storm might interrupt our day. There have been a few cackles of lighting, rain softly patters on the roof and the light above us flickers more than usual. My head is still in my script, almost done the details. I almost feel like something is missing from it, the script feels a little bland. Besides the camp almost shutting down, it was all happy.

I take a glance towards Max, he seems anxious about something. Fiddling with a pencil, staring down at a piece of paper. His hands look a little shaky, I wonder if he's okay. I flip back to Parents Day, the page is a little empty. There was a chunk that I wasn't there for, It was a night I'll never forget. But during the night, Max, David and Gwen were absent until they returned at around 9:30. I don't know what they were doing, but it was probably something to cheer him up. He was really moody and overall upset that day.

It sounds kind of creepy, but I've felt the urge to keep a small eye on him through out the summer. The feeling grew stronger, especially since August. I can't put my finger on it, but it's always left a small warm feeling in my stomach, I think about it a lot; the feeling. It almost reminds me of poems I've read, or things I've heard in musicals. I don't know what it is now, maybe I never will. But I'll figure it out when I'm older.

But now all I think about is what unnamed horrors run through his life. What it's like to see the world through his perspective. How many nights has he spent alone? What lies under his hoodie, his mask? Why is he so cynical?

What monsters made him the way he is.

Nikki runs up to me, she looks a little excited about something. Maybe an idea? "Preston! Preston! I have a plan!" Yup, an idea.

"What dear? I'm working on my script."

"It's about Ma—" I put a hand over her mouth, muffling her words and snatching Neil from the next table over, bringing them to the kitchen and closing the door.

"What the fuck? I thought Dolph was the only one allowed to kidnap me." Neil says, staring daggers into me. I awkwardly laugh. "Is this important? I have an experiment to get to."

"Nikki has a plan about Max's home situation." I say, Neil drops whatever he was working on to hear this.

"David could adopt him! Gwen told me he was an Elementary school teacher, they could live in a small apartment and be happy!" Neil raises his eyebrows, I facepalm.

"Nikki, David is what, 24? He can't do that let alone afford that. I don't even think thats legal." I say, moving my hands to my hips. "That would also take months if he were to do it properly. He would have to get a fostering license—" Neil interrupts.

"You might be shocked by this. but it's legal." Neil says. "Theres something called Kinship Care. Basically, it allows someone close with Max to foster him. Typically it would be a family member. But sometimes teachers and childcare workers could be considered. David falls under 'childcare worker' as a camp counselor."

"But wouldn't that still involve a fostering license?" I ask, raising one of my eyebrows. I take a look at Nikki to see hopeful eyes, a smile on her face.

"Actually, it doesn't. David just needs the ability to care for him, and David's a good guy. He can do that with no problem." Nikki's smile grows, and she jumps around cheering a course of yay's! and yes's!

"Nikki we can't promise that will happen. You can't guarantee anything with stuff like this." I put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.

"Well. why don't we tell David about it tonight? If all goes well, we should be meeting up again!" Nikki asks, puppy dog eyes evident on her face.

"Okay, okay. Just keep it on the down low." We leave it at that, going to our individual activities in the Mess Hall.

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** Max's POV **

The rain started to fall harder through out the day, rumbles of thunder and platinum streaks of lightning dancing in the air. The power went out a while ago, so we lit candles all over the room. David had to run over here and set up the "reflecting sessions" in the kitchen. Personally, I don't care. It's less walking for me that way. Right now, I'm watching Preston practice his play. Some of his plays don't work, but others can be pretty entertaining if you're looking to make fun of it.

Everyone besides me has had their session, I think Harrison is in the middle of his right now. Though Harrison's session has been longer than all of ours, I wonder what they're talking about. The day has been a little boring if I'm being honest. Besides Nikki randomly leaving in middle of the day due to pain, we've had sat around and played cards or made things. Nobody wanted to make chaos, just relax. I fucking hate that, but what can I do. Harrison walks out of the kitchen with a face of mixed emotions, like he was comprehending something. Weird. Neil has already walked up to him though, so I don't bother him.

I keep my eye on Preston for a while, not really feeling the need to make fun of his play. If I'm being honest, it's actually kind of good. It got kind of dry around some areas, but he didn't witness everything. Like when we all got possessed off kool-aid — he probably only remembered loving the guy. For some parts of writing, he had to ask me about things he might have missed, or if it was accurate enough. It was kind of cool of him to admit in some areas that he was wrong, David's weird session thing kind of does have a purpose.

Speaking of the stupid session thing:

"Max! You're the last session, get your ass into the kitchen! And don't pull any funny shit. You little shits haven't done absolutely anything today and I don't fuckin' trust it." Gwen yells from the corner of the room, slowly scrolling on her phone. She was probably reading monster-human-fish X reader fan fiction or something. I'll never understand that shit. Getting up, I take one last glance towards the practice in front of me before walking to the kitchen, seeing that David had set up a table and two chairs in the middle of the room.

David was sitting in one of the chairs, his usual smile looking a little anxious when he spots me. "Hello Max! Golly, you're the last session! Take a seat." His arm points to the seat across from him. I stare at it uncertainly before taking a deep breath, getting this over with. David takes out a thin file, one that says my first name on it. The yellow folder only has a few mere pieces of paper in it, probably all empty.

"You, Max have been one heck of a camper. We've had our highs and lows, but we made it! Yay!" He does this half dance with his hands, kind of shaking with pride radiating off of him with his smile. He gets back to talking. "You might be thinking about why I have your file out! Don't worry — you're not in trouble." He would be too much of a pussy to put me in aby real trouble. He slides the file towards me. Gently picking it up with cautious hands, I open in.

Inside are three different pieces of paper, two smaller than the other. One is a form that has two different sets of handwriting. One that I don't recognize, and the other set belongs to my mother. Looking at the other two pieces of paper, they almost looked like letters. The letters have the same handwriting from most of the boxes that are actually filled out on the form. I set aside the form, looking at the two letters. They seem more important.

"Read the one on the bottom first." David says, his eyes suddenly eager. Shuffling up the two letters, I read:

_Max,_

_You're a tough camper. You don't use the most savory language, fight, pull pranks, all that. But you always seem angry at the world about something, you don't trust people. I want to change that. I don't know why, but I see something in you. I know that might sound creepy, but it's true. You seem really smart, mature for a ten year old, and maybe if I get to your good side you can let me know more. But even if don't, I have a feeling I'll be keeping a close eye on you. Three months from now, you'll be reading this. I hope we have the best adventures together over the summer, the ones we'll never forget._

_— David._

A tiny part of me wants to smile, but at the same time ... I would expect something like this from him. He's such a fucking sap, he probably did this with everyone. I don't ask questions, I just read over his written words again, ink splotches dipper into each crevice of the paper. I shouldn't like his stupid letter, or the fact that he was super determined to make me happy for no goddamn reason besides having a feeling. I haven't even read the second letter, and that's probably even more emotional.

At the thought of the second letter, I put down the first letter, and pick up the other. There are some slight differences, the paper being newer and in blue ink instead of black. But not wasting time on things that dont matter, I continue to read.

_Max._

_In the beginning of the summer, you were almost a completely different person. You're still who you were then: rebellious, cynical, mature— the list goes on. But in that first week of camp, I didn't really know you. You're so much different from what people assume you actually are. You're a good kid. Sure, you curse a lot, or you purposely try to challenge me everyday. But thats why I see so much in you. You care about me, the campers, the camp; and even though you might not show it — you've grown to be happier. You've made lifelong friends, made memories, and learned to smile once in a while. You slowly opened up, and I slowly got to know you better. And now, I don't think i could ever live a life without you. I'm happy I got to make you happy here at camp, even if it's hard to say. And one more thing:_

_I'm proud of you._

"Whats the point of this?" I ask, folding up the letters and putting them to the side. Part of me wants to steal them, but I save that thought for later.

"Well, it's to review your growth through out thesummer! I for one, think you've had a ton of personal growth! Like for example, around the start of July you weren't trying to break me anymore!" The idea itself wasn't awful, this seems like something a summer camp would be forced to do. I had also seen this worksheet David filled out by the end of each week about the activities we did or if anyone got an injury — boring shit like that.

"Why does it fucking matter? I'm just a pain in ass." Please, I want this to be over. He's gonna start asking about my feelings and if he does that then we're getting into risky areas for me. If I make one slip up, I'm in the foster system. If that can somehow be worse then Peter and Monika, I don't want any part of it.

"How about we start from the beginning! At first you wanted to murder me and escape the camp so badly! But you started to get happier, you even gave me a hug, Max! A hug! I'm so proud of you." Holding his hands together, he brought them to his face in a motion of praise. You could almost see stars twinkling in his eyes.

"Oh shut up. I'll be back to normal soon, just you wait." Peter will whip me into shape, literally.

"Oh come on Max! You've grown so much! We have lots to talk about!" David tries to lighten things up, but nothing seems to work. But he knows that he needs to know something else about Max, so he takes a different approach. A frown flickers across David's face.

"Max we all love you here at Camp Campbell and we would hate to see you upset. Does anything bad go on at home?" What else did you expect, it's David for fucks sake. He was going to ask eventually, especially with how you've been acting this week. A voice in my head tells me.

"E-everything's fine David, shut up." It's usually so easy to lie, but when you know you need help with something as serious as your home life, it can crush you.

"Do you have any friends? What about your studies?" He tries to be patient, a soft smile that patiently waits for Max's answers. He already knows one of them — Max isn't the type of person to do homework. If he actually tried, he would be great at it. He's a really smart kid. He didn't want to assume that Max didn't have many friends, but if his parents are as bad as he thinks they are, Max probably wouldn't be very involved with them.

"Pet— My Dad makes me do homework and I have no friends." If I slip up once, I'm dead.

"No friends at all?" David asks quietly. I fucked up.

"I-I mean there is too much work and my Dad wants a good life for me!" Panic visually shoots through my eyes, David seems to notice. I get up from the table, pushing the chair in and heading for the door.

"Max—"

"Just don't."

Shutting the door behind me, I leave.

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"I've had enough of this "Let's kiss up to David's ass" game. What hell are we raising today?" I say, walking up to Nikki and Neil. Preston and Harrison we're cool and all, but we we're the three that started it all, the original trio. Preston and Harrison we're just mindless add-ons, but I wanted this to be like the beginning of the summer: being #1 David's nightmare.

"Max, the day is almost over and Nikki is ... shes not feeling well. Shouldn't we just find Nikki chocolate or something? She wanted that." Motherfucker.

"Neil you're boring fuck. Nikki didn't do this the last time she got her period or whatever. She's bleeding into something, she can still make David cry." Neil raised one eyebrow, putting down the beaker he was using.

"Not gonna lie, that was kind of rude. Seriously, whats it with you and causing David hell today? I thought you guys we're actually starting to tolerate each other." Neil says. What's it with everyone and relaxing today?

"He's pissing me off. Asking too many difficult questions, and talking about fucking "progress and growth over the goddamn summer". He can just go fuck himself." Before Neil can respond, Nerris runs up to us.

"Neil, we need that chocolate, like, now. She can barely walk." I sigh giving in. As much as I want David to pay, it sounds like Nikki is in a lot of pain. As much as I want to fuck with David, Nikki is more important.

"David said we're having a campfire tonight, that means s'mores. There should be chocolate somewhere in the kitchen, if you give David the 'Nikki has her period' excuse he should give you some. She usually eats a whole bar each time we have s'mores anyway." Neil smiles, Nerris sighs with relief.

"Thank you Max!" Having nothing better to do, I walk up to David with Nerris and Neil. Hopefully, he'll shit his pants from having to deal with this. Gwen was practically taking an off day today, so he was on his own. I don't think he would want a bunch of children dealing with Nikkis lady problems or whatever. Tugging on David's shorts to get his attention, he gives me a smile before looking down at us.

"Yes Max!" He crouches, getting to our level.

"Nikki's bleeding out of her ass. She said she wanted chocolate." I hold my hands out in a grabbing motion. "Gimme." David looks visually scared of my phrasing, a shiver goes through him.

Priceless.

"Gweeeen! I think you should deal with this one!" Gwen looks up from her magazine, groaning.

"David, she just wants chocolate. Just give the kids the damn chocolate, they can't be that cruel. And it's Nikki, they love her."

"But they could be—"

"They wouldn't lie about this! Just give them the fucking chocolate." Just two more days until home, I hear her mumble under her breath. David walks into the kitchen, we hear shuffling in the other room for a minute until he comes out with a bar of chocolate.

"Straight to Nikki's tent, then out." He says sternly. He walk out of the Mess Hall, on the way to the tents. 

"If I'm being honest, I thought that would be harder. Good job Max!" Nerris says, grabbing the chocolate. Out of my hands. "But I think it's a good idea if you don't go in there. It's ... bad. I'm sure she'll be fine when I grab something from Gwens stuff, but since she's taking a break or whatever, were working with towels, toilet paper, and old cotton balls I found on one of the shelves in the girls showrooms."

"Thats respectable." Neil says. "Hey Max, lets go see when the Quartermaster is heating up the left over pretzel mets for dinner."

"We should also see if Gwen will get Nikki a fucking pad." I mumble, catching up to him and starting our walk back towards the Mess Hall. It stopped raining about an hour ago, the clouds cleared up and stuff. The sun was starting to have an afternoon glow, casting yellow across every surface.

"You think anything interesting will happen tonight?" Neil asks, shoving his hands into his pockets. While hunching over, he's only an inch taller than me. I wonder if he'll ever begin to feel confident in himself, start to stand tall.

Eh, it was a weird thought anyway.

"Probably not. It hasn't really been eventful today. Maybe Space Kid will burn himself while making s'mores again." I say. "That would be pretty funny. Sometimes he can be a real fuckin' idiot."

"Well, he's 8. He's not going to be the smartest man on the planet." Neil has a point. "But with my intellectual capabilities, we could easily say that I'm the—"

"I'm gonna stop you right there; no." He can go suck a dick, I don't feel like hearing about him go on about how smart that he is. "Nobody cares that your horny for science." Well, maybe Harrison. Neil chokes on his words for a few moments before realizing we had made it to the Mess Hall. Opening the door, we see that dinner is already being served.

"Should we go make Gwen help Nerris out with Nikki? I've got to give her mad props for helping her out." Neil asks, looking towards Gwen who was in the same spot all day. Now she was writing in her diary — probably about her sex dreams with fish.

"Probably. This place is kinda unbearable without her." We walk up towards the corner shes writing at. Shes probably writing about her sex dreams with fish. Gwen looks up from her book with annoyance, she puts it down on the ground.

"What do you two shits want?"

"Help Nerris with Nikki bleeding out of her ass before it looks like Nikki was a surgery gone wrong." Gwen sighs, getting up and walking up to David. I hear Gwen mumble about keeping a better eye on us since she was going to the tents to help out Nerris. Neil smells the sweet scent of actual food (leftover pretzel melts), we go to the kitchen to get out servings from the QM. Holding the hot trays in our hands, we spot Harrison and Preston at our usual table. Sharing a few words, we decide to sit with them.

"Oh hey Max! Neil! What have you guys been up to?" Preston asks. Like usual, Neil sits next to Harrison, I sit next to Preston.

"Nerris needed help with Nikki, so we provided. How's the play going?" For some reason, I was genuinely curious.

"It was a huge flop! Nobody wanted to be in it. This whole camp is filled with uncultured swines!" Preston cries. Not gonna lie, I actually feel kind of bad for him. The play was hlaf decent and he worked really hard on it.

"Oh really? That sucks." I kinda feel bad for the guy, but at the same time, I'm me.

"It's awful! I can't believe no one cares enough to be in my play." It does kinda suck, but I don't say anything else. As much as I love pretzel melts, they don't seem appetizing. I might throw up if have more — it's rare that I have both breakfast and lunch. So I just toy around with the food on my plate, waiting for Nikki to come eat lunch. I can give it to her and she wouldn't complain.

"Max you need to eat. We've already been over this." The voice is fuzzy as I'm still stuck in a trance. "Come on Max we've been over this." Someone shakes my shoulder."Max?" Blinking a few times, I see Preston, Neil and Harrison. Oh, I just zoned out.

"Eat." Harrison says blatantly. I'm not, nobody can force me to. Neil gets up to go somewhere, get something, I don't know. Gwen is back,

she has food with her, but shes still writing. Preston grabs a fork and fights with the pretzel for a few moments before a piece stuck to the spikes.

"Here comes the airplane!!" Preston makes noises like "vroom vroom", trying to shove the pretzel into my mouth. Preston soon got frustrated, throwing the fork on the table. Neil came back over here with David. Oh shit.

"Max why aren't you eating your food? I thought you liked Quartermasters pretzel melts!" David says, sitting down on the other side of me. Oh god.

"Because I don't feel like it. Would everyone please fuck off?"

"Max we're not letting you get away with this shit anymore! Eat your food!" Harrison says.

"I mean, there are reasons why he might want to not eat. One of them being that Max has an eating disorder." I hate that thats possible. Neil was about to say something, but closed his mouth. Wonder what that was about.

"All three meals are very important — especially breakfast! You need to eat, if you don't you can stop growing, you can run out of energy quickly, lots of bad things could happen!" David goes on about how the major food groups and how they're all very important. He also talks about how staying hydrated is also very important or some shit.

"David I don't wanna fuckin' puke. I think I can skip one meal — I've gone days without eating." The table goes silent. Shit, I fucked up.

"D-Days?" David's voice cracks. I keep on fucking up today.

"Uh ... you see um" I try to think of something to save me. "Heres's the thing! My Dad travels a lot! One time we ran out of food?" Neil facepalms.

"Max thats the most shit faced lie yet. You have to tell us if something is wrong so we can see whats causing it and help you, dumbass." Neil's basically begging me to tell him whats wrong. I feel bad about it. I feel really bad about it. Nobody should care about my life, or what I go through, or if I'm okay. It doesn't make sense. Neil crosses his arms, raising his eyebrows.

I stay silent, David eventually sighs. "Will you at least have a s'more? I'm pretty sure you didn't even have one at our last fire." He's correct, I didn't.

"If I have a s'more, am I allowed to not eat dinner?"

"I think thats the closest we're getting to making Max eat." Harrison says. They're all clearly disappointed, but at this point, I don't care.

"Well, that settles it."

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

Night had come not long after dinner. David had set up s'mores, Nikki took a shower and Gwen finally gave her period products. Everyone was here now: the moons soft blue hue skinning the forest ground, yellow crystals flowing through the nights air. As I sit from a distance, I watch David run around with a smile with Space Kid on his shoulders, feeling like he was flying. Innocent laughs, innocent smiles, those innocent eyes.

Nikki and Neil were arguing over the perfect way to toast a marshmallow while getting to perfect browning and texture, Preston was singing a song from Heathers, Harrison was trying to summon more s'mores supplies while Nerris argued with him. Everything was perfect, everything was too perfect.

It taunted me, I knew something was going to happen. I just didn't know what. Seeing that the fire was dying down, I grab a long log and throw it in into the pit, watching flames engulf it greedily. I take a look at Nikki and Neil, their smiles highlighted by the fires light, their laughter making a happy song. I'll make sure to remember them, I'll make sure to remember everyone. I wear a sad smile, it starts to waver as a few tears come to my eyes. I see Preston start to walk toward me, and I wipe them away.

"Hey Max! You need to make your s'more! I brought over one chocolate bar, two marshmallows and two gram crackers for you!" He sits down on the log next to me, setting out the materials in front of us. He also grabs a stick from the ground, poking my marshmellow on it. "Come on! I wanna see how you make it."

I put the stick near the flame, keeping a steady hand as I slowing twirl the stick in front of the fire, trying to get each end to have a soft brown. At our first fire, David taught us how to make s'mores perfectly. Sure, nobody really listened but I kept his methods in mind. I take a look towards Preston to see his eyes sparkling as he looks at the fire. He turns his head towards me, I look back towards the fire. I take my marshmallow out to see it completely burnt.

Preston chuckles as he takes the stick out of my hand, tossing the burnt marshmallow towards Nikki. Putting a new marshmallow on the stick, he hands the stick back to me, a smile curling up on his face. "Here, try again. I'll help you."

I try to pay more attention to the task at hand, trying the same technique as last time when Prestons hand covers mine, stopping the stick from twirling. "If you keep on doing the same thing, you're gonna have the same outcome. You might as well drop your stick into the fire. Here:" Instead of twirling it, he turns it around completely. "You're less likely to drop it if you keep it still. Maybe another thing is that you're hands are kinda shaky." No shit my hands are shaking, you're making me feel weird.

He keeps his hand over mine, trying to make it steady so I don't drop the stick. My face feels kind of warm, I hope thats from the firelight.

"I think its done! Lets check." He lets go of my hand, letting me take the stick out of the fire to see a perfectly toasted marshmallow. I grab the gram crackers, putting half of the chocolate bar on the gram cracker, placing the marshmallow on the cracker and putting the over on top as I watch it slide out from the stick, making a s'more. Smiling, I take a bite out of it. Preston eats the other half of the chocolate bar.

"Well? How is it!?" He asks.

"It's fucking amazing. Thanks for the help, Pres." Preston brings up the chocolate he was eating.

"Cheers?" He asks.

"Cheers!" We clink our deserts together with a laugh. I hear Nurf scream about all the marshmallows being gone, Preston shivers. I think he got really scared of him after the egg project, and if I'm being honest, would be too.

"Wanna look at the stars? People are loud over here." Preston says, I laugh again, looking at his eyes (again, the fuck is up with you Max?).

"You sound like Space Kid." I pause. "But sure." We see an open field of grass not too far from the fire, and walk towards there. Lying down in the grass, we still hear the cackling of the fire and laughs of the group from afar, but over here it's just us. Stars twinkle in the night sky, it almost feels magical.

"Have you felt like ... something could go completely wrong any minute? Like ... you're high on happiness one minute but then realize its all gonna be over like" I snap my fingers. "that?"

"Why do you feel like it's all gonna go to hell?" Preston asks. "You have nothing to fear here, except the normal day to day chaos. But that always happens."

"When I go back ... well I don't wanna call it home, but back where I live I guess."

"I hope everything is okay." And he doesn't push me, just leaves it at that. I appreciate that, he never makes me say anything I don't want to. Maybe it's because he already has an inkling on the truth — maybe everyone does. But I decide to not think about that. Instead, I let the peace of this moment drift through my open mind.I feel a weight drop on my shoulder, and hear soft snores and breathes. I smile, taking a deep breath.

The entire cosmos surrounds me while Preston and I lay under a lunar light. As I drift asleep I can touch every star I wished upon.

Only under the moonlit sky.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

** Third Person POV — Around 2:00 AM **

"I can never get these damn facts right" Neil thinks as he scribbles on his chalkboard. Him, Preston, Nikki, Neil, Gwen and David were still meeting up, but Neil couldn't sleep. So he did what he did best — Science. They had decided to make the meeting time later because of the campfire, so Neil was going to wait until 2:30 AM to wake everyone up for the meeting. He loved science, he really did. But sometimes it was just so hard. The amount of work you do each night just for one experiment was excruciating.

Another part of him was doing this for Harrison. They were still fighting over that time Harrison made Max throw up only magic supplies for 2 days. He didn't get how Harrison did it. He swore that it would drive him insane for the rest of his life, the facts just weren't there! And science, it solved everything right? Right?

His train of thought got cut off by a sudden cry.

"Max?" He whispered. He turned around to see Max gripping onto his bear, he tried to take deep breath that soon turned heavy and quick. Neil rushed over to Max's cot only to get a closer look. He could hear the silent whispers, strings of 'no, no, no' or 'please stop'. Taking his lantern hanging from his chalkboard to get a better vision, the lamp shined on the tears slick on his face. Oh god.

"P-Please, not there." Wait, not there? What did he mean by not there? Should he wake him up? He tried to touch him, only to feel him flinch. "I said stop!" Neil felt a tear roll down his cheek. He caused that.

"Max please wake up. P-Please I don't know what to do—" He took a breath. He needed to be calm, be strong for Max. Max's cries got louder, he pleas go longer, and his shakes got more vigorous. Neil couldn't move, he didn't know what to do. But as the last time this happened flashed through his mind, he couldn't let this go unsaid again. Max needs someone to help him, and even if it wasn't Neil, goddamnit he was going to make sure it was somebody.

_Make sure it was somebody..._

_...make sure it was somebody..._

_Aha!_

In a quick motion, he opened the tent flap and was running. With quick breathes and feet making loud crunches as he sped through the forest, he knew one person that Max hated, but was close with. That person was David. He knew that Max didn't get along with David, bur he needs him right now. He also knew that even if Max didn't want to admit it, he saw something in David no other camper did. Even if David didn't want to admit it, Max was obviously his favorite camper.

As he ran, he tried to wipe his eyes, tried not to stumble and fall, tried to get there fast. Neil wasn't the fasted runner, but he was gonna make sure he was fast right now. The boy was nowhere near athletic. Seeing the counselors cabin in the distance only made him faster.

Stumbling on the first step to the cabin, he choked on his breathing. Placing a hand to the wall to support him, he brought up another to knock frantically on the door. Hearing shuffling on the other end of the door, David whips it open. He wasn't sure why he was seeing a crying, out of breath Neil at 2:00 AM but shes he knew it wasn't good.

"Neil? I thought we were meeting up at—"

"It's Max. He's having a nightmare, a really really bad one and I-I don't know what to do." Shoving on his boots as fast as possible, they both run through the cold night and shifting shadows getting to Neil and Max's tent. Neil isn't as fast David, David's so tall that he's automatically fast at running. But it doesn't matter, none of it matters, they just need to help Max.

David gets to the tent first, scraping his knee on the the tarp covered floor when trying to get to Max's cot. His skin was as white as chalk, his limbs were weak. Sweat and tears made their way down heated skin. Neil flipped the tent flaps open, catching his breath and sitting down next to David. "Is he gonna be okay?" He asked.

"Neil; I think you should go to one of the other campers tents."

"B-But Max isn’t okay!” Max suddenly screamed, sifting his body to one side. Neil sighs. He started chewing on his lower lip as tears once again welled up in his eyes. Standing up, he took small footsteps to the tents exit."Hang in there Max." He said in a hushed tone. Neil didn't look back, letting his final tears fall, taking shaky steps to Harrison and Preston's tent.

David took a look back towards Max, a sudden surge of determination rushing through him. His body laid limp on the cot, still shaking and crying but he wasn't trying anymore. Get him out of there. David shook his shoulder in an attempt to wake him up. He needs someone to love him for once in his life, just try. "Come on buddy, just wake up." Max flinched, trying to curl away from the touch. David winced that hurt to see.

"It's me, David. You're safe, just please wake up." He murmured. Stroking the boys raven hair. He remembered an article he read on nightmares, it said to try not to wake the person up. Max probably had these nightmares a lot. As much as he hated that, as much as he wanted to wake Max up, to end his suffering — the article said that waking someone up is basically ineffective and wont do anything. So silently stroking his hair, he hopes that he'll finally feel okay.

A few moments later, Max shot up, coughing into his arm. He couldn't breathe, everything felt hot. Trying to take deep breathes, he felt a large hand on his back. Startled, he tried to get in a defensive pose. It wasn't a nightmare?

"Hey! Hey ... shh calm down Max. It's just me, David! Your annoyingly happy camp counselor." Frantically, he took a look next to him to see a blurry blob of red hair. Blinking a few times, he saw David. Another tear squeezed out of wide eyes, shit. Max didn't want to cry in-front of David, Max didn't want to cry at all. "Max, we know ... we know whats going on. And you're allowed to cry." Out of breath, in a haze, Max looks up.

"You're just a kid, you're allowed to cry." Max hiccuped, tears glazing over teal eyes. Everything happened so fast, it was a fuzzy moment. Small yellow light came from the lantern placed next to David, he could see him give a sad smile as the light gave small flickers. They know, you can't hide. He thinks. It's safe, you're safe. Just cry. "Let it all out Max, I'll be right here. Every step of the way." And that was it. In one swift movement, Max was hugging David's torso, wrecked sobs muffled by David chest.

"If y-you tell an-anyone about this—"

"Shhh, shhh. Everything is gonna be okay, right? It's just us." David whispered. He knew he couldn't say that, he knew that this could go all wrong any second. But he knew Max needed to hear it. And he knew he was there to at least try.

_Because somebody fucking has to._


	9. sneak peak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> uhhh y’all need food and it’s been two months so take a good half of what i have for chapter 7 so far.

**Third Person POV, 2 Days of Camp left, 1:30 AM**

A scream jolts Harrison and Preston awake, it sounded like it came from the tent next to them. Harrison tried to rub the tiredness from his eyes, the poor attempt didn't work. Preston yawned from the other side of the tent, turning on their shared lantern. "Was I the only one that heard that?" Harrison heard Preston whisper.

"No, I think it came from the tent next to us." Both of the boys took a few seconds for their tired minds to catch up to their thoughts for a few moments. Both of them realizing that the tent belonged to Max and Neil, Preston gasped.

"Oh god, what happened to Max!"

"What about Neil? He has the girliest screams, they're cute." Harrison heard a quiet voice from afar. "Wait! Listen in!"

_"Come on buddy, wake up."_ Both boys sat in their cots confused.

"That sounds like David ..." Preston says, thinking for a moment. He remembered Neil mentioning Max having constant nightmares, what if ... "Is Max having a nightmare?"

"That would make sense, Neil talked about that with me. But was it really that bad that David had to go there and wake him up?" As Harrison mentioned Neil's name, he remembered something. "Wait where is Neil? He remembered that he was missing from the picture when hearing that Max was probably having a nightmare right now, so was he in the tent?

Preston shrugged before starting to hear coughing. He assumed Max woke up. David was starting to talk to Max, but felt a pang of guilt as he realized he was intruding on a private moment. Remembering that he shouldn't be leaning against the tent walls, he scoots away, sitting on the end of his cot. "I heard David start to talk about being able to let your emotions out, so I stopped listening. The moment seemed kinda private."

"That means Neil isn't in the tent." Preston curled up into a thin blanket he brought to the camp from home, wrapping it around his back and holding it up in front of him. They hear a knock quiet on the tent flaps. "Maybe thats him?" Harrison gets out of bed, feeling a little cold. Quickly pulling on a hoodie he wears to bed, he opens the tent flaps to see Neil. Shivering in the cold night air, he wore the sane attire he did everyday. A flood of tears fell down his pink tinted cheeks, dark bags straining his eyes.

"M-Max had another nightmare." Neil accepted Harrisons open arms, shaky limbs wrapping around Harrisons waist. Letting the tent flaps fall shut, Neil nuzzled his head into Harrisons shoulder, a new feeling of a cold wetness seeping into the gold hoodie. Fixated on comforting Neil, he didn't seem to notice. Instead, he tried rubbing soothing circles on the boys back, singing small sweet nothings into his ears. "Harrison I—"

"Shh shhh ... tell me later, okay?" Harrison felt deep, hot breaths in the crook of his neck. Everything felt so warm, but cold. Everything was so sharp, but blurry. Nothing seemed to make sense, the cold nights at Camp Campbell have never been so scary. Love had never felt so scary to him. Life never felt so confusing. But at the same time, in this summer, he's never felt so alive. So if pain was all he felt under the moons gaze, maybe it would be worth it. He always remembered people saying it gets worse before it gets better, maybe this is what it feel like. He presses a kiss against Neil's hair, and welcomes the feeling of sorrow, lets it flood his body with a cool sensation, lets a tear squeeze out of his eye. It'll be okay, eventually.

"Wanna sit down?" Harrison whispers into Neils ear.

"Yeah." Neil's voice comes out with a crack, but he can't seem to care right now. Unwrapping himself from Neil, Harrison still kept a hand on his back as he led him to the cot. Harrison gives a bunch of blankets to Neil, letting himself bundle up in the warmth. Harrison sat down next to him, intertwining his fingers with Neil's. "Did I wake you guys up?"

"Nah, you're good Neil. Max's scream woke us up. And even if you did wake us up, that wouldn't matter." Preston says. Every word is true, no matter what Neil thinks. "You don't have to tell us what happened. If you wanna take your mind off of it, I have uno cards."

"No ... no I wanna tell you guys what happened." Preston sets the lantern on the ground in the middle of the room, helping light the room a little better. He also pulls out a box, and hands us both a small cup of pudding with a spoon. "I have a stash I need to use up, only Max and Harrison knew about it. You can eat while you talk! Take as much time as you need." Neil gives him a sad smile, taking the cup of pudding and plastic spoon.

"I couldn't sleep. I had this weird feeling that something strange was gonna happen, and I had to stay up for the meeting anyway. So I just worked on some science stuff until it was time to wake you guys up. But then Max started mumbling things in his sleep and—and he started crying and sweating a lot. He was out of breath and the things he was saying were ... concerning. Really concerning. It's a definite that he's not safe. I knew it was a nightmare, I didn't know what to do."

"I was at a breaking point when he said 'p-please not there' and I knew I had to do something—" He paused for a second, swiping his eyes. Tears came anyway. "I ran to the counselors cabin, David was awake and dressed?? I don't know why, but I told him that I thought Max was having a nightmare, but it was much worse than the other one I saw. David put his shoes on and we ran to the tent. I wanted to stay, but Max screamed. I think I know what he was dreaming about, and — and oh my god if he's getting abused in that way and we could have done something this whole time—"

"Hey, hey Neil none of this is your fault. None of us are at fault here." Caressing his cheek, Harrison bring Neil's eyes to his. "Neil, even if something was happening, you had no way of knowing. Max didn't tell you, that was his choice. It isn't you're duty to find out that whatever is harming him behind the scenes. Be thankful that you something's up now, right?" Harrison knew what it was like. With every situation he ran into, with every problem someone had he always knew how to confront it in the best possible way.

Harrison happened to be a very understanding person, maybe that came with his magic. Maybe it came him being him. He just seemed to understand things, the way people acted, how they truly felt, if everything was just a mask they put on for the show. He had never gone through anything as horrible as what Max was going through, but goddamnit, he knew what it was like.

At first, he was happy. His parents were happy, everything was painted in a beautiful picture. He had a little brother, he played with toy trains and sang silly songs and ran around in the backyard. He vividly remembered this thing his father would do — pick him up in a secure grip on his stomach, held him high above hishead and ran around. Harrison would hold his arms out, he remembered the feeling of flying. He remembered things being normal, of things being perfect.

But he also remembered things starting to change. His parents views became a little stricter, he had to be a picture perfect son, he couldn't disappoint. The pressure became stronger with each passing day, it put a weight on his back that never seemed to go away, or get slightly lighter. He found magic, making objects float and playing with cards gave him a feeling of hope and freedom to do what he wanted, he was in charge of something for once in his life.

But his parents grew scared, they knew that no matter how hard they tried that they weren't in charge. His little brother disappeared, and that was the final straw.

Sometimes he would be locked into his room days on end, only let out to go to school. He wouldn't be fed for some of the time, his parents would call him a monster. His parents have been sending Harrison to Camp Campbell for as long as he could remember — just to get rid of him. At least his Grandfather supports him for some unknown reason, he gives him magic supplies on mail days. But it would never get as bad as Max's story. Harrisons parents never laid a finger on him, it would go against their religion. If they ever found out that he had a boyfriend — even if it was just puppy love — he would get disowned.

Another knock on the tent flaps broke his trance. "Thats weird, who would that be?" Preston decided to get up, opening the flaps to see Nikki. She was in another fuzzy red sweater, but in blue gym shorts and grey wool socks. Wild hair was tucked into a messy bun at it's best abilities, she looked scared as she held out her lantern to get through the dark night.

"I heard a scream that sounded like Max, a-and I tried to stay in my tent but couldn't. I went to his tent but no one was there. So I decided to come here."Nikki felt cold, she brought the lantern closer to her to feel some type of warmth. Nothing cane from it. "Is it alright to come in?"

"Yeah it's okay. Neil and Harrison are in here too, Neil for the same reason as you, and Harrison — well we share this tent." Nikki tries to giggle to try and cool the tension, instead her voice just cracks. She walked into the room to see Harrison and Neil curled up under thick blankets, Harrison mostly straddling Neil. Taking a seat, she placed her lantern next to the other in the middle of the room.

"You said Max wasn't in the tent?" Neil asked, perking up a little.

"Yeah, nobody. Not even Mr. Honeynuts. Do you guys know what happened to him?" Preston caught a glimpse of Nikki's arm that slipped out of her sweater to see goosebumps. Grabbing a blanket, he makes sure to hand it to her. Nikki thanks him.

"Basic summery: Neil couldn't sleep, stayed up, saw Max have a horrible nightmare, ran to get David, ran back with David, David told Neil to leave, Neil didn't, Max screamed, Neil left and came here. Max's scream woke us up, we heard some of David and Max's conversation distantly but stopped listening cuz it sounded really private." Harrison explained for Neil (which Neil was thankful for.)

"I think I saw David pacing in the counselors cabin's window. They're probably in there." Nikki says. The tent was quiet, nobody really knew what to say. Preston pulled out his IPod, playing some Musical Theater songs. The sound quality was crappy — it would cut out completely here and there. But nobody seemed to care. They didn't think they were going to have a meeting tonight, but when Gwen stepped into the tent an hour later, they were proven wrong. With a sigh, she shoved her hands into the pockets of a purple fleece she was wearing.

"Lets get you shits to the Mess Hall."

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

They all took a step into the Mess Hall with a blanket wrapped around all each of them. Gwen let all of the campers get situated as she grabbed the lighter set in a drawer in the kitchen. Coming out of the kitchen, she set light to a few candles in placed on the table.

"Okay, raise your hand if you want hot coco." Every camper slowly raised their hand. Gwen mumbled something under her breath before going to the kitchen, getting 6 Swiss Miss packets (one extra for her, another extra if David happened to show up.) Putting two kettles on the stovetop, she let them heat up as she got out six mugs, setting them on the counter. Going to the fridge, she grabbed some whipped cream, marshmellows and sprinkles (David was the one that usually made them, he would put in a tower of whip cream, making exactly two marshmellows stand in the cream and sprinkled in the rainbow dots like small confetti to make it pretty.) One time David made Gwen hot chocolate and put in a long stick of chocolate from a Hersheys bar in the mix.

Outside of the kitchen, it almost looked like a funeral. Preston was still playing show tunes — both him and Nikki still stayed wrapped in their blankets. Harrison had one of his arms wrapped around Neil, the other holding onto his hand as Neil had his head resting in his other arm. "Should we still have the meeting without David?" Nikki asked quietly, not too hard to hear.

"I think we should. He gets picked up tomorrow, and taken back to that hell and we could've done something about it? That would wreck me." Preston says. Turning down the the music playing on his phone, he continues. "Max is something else, and he's a huge mystery I-I've always had a weird feeling about. Well, I've had several weird feelings about him, but maybe this is what one of them means."

"What do you mean by 'several', Pres?" Harrison asks. Damn, if he had his top hat he could've had them all play cards to distract them. Preston turns a little red, getting a little nervous.

"U-Uh y'know! I just get this weird feeling i-in my chest, it's nothing." Harrison doesn't push him, he'll bother Preston about his potential crush later when it's just them in their tent. Right now, he wanted to help Max. Gwen walks out of the kitchen with four hot chocolates, somehow griping onto two handles in one hand.

"Okay you mini bastards. Argue about which ones you want, I'm grabbing mine and David's." She says.

"Isn't David with Max? I thought he was taking care of the nightmare thing. I didn't see them in the tent ..." Nikki says.

"If I'm being honest with you Nik', I don't even know whats happening. I'm a heavy sleeper and David woke me up to go grab you guys from your tents. That's all I know." Gwen pulls out her phone to see a text from David. Opening up her phone, she walks back to the kitchen.

_**CBFL #1** : Counselor emergency! I know I didn't tell you this because you needed to grab the campers, but Max had a really bad nightmare and I had to step in. Just keep an eye on the kids and try to distract them, maybe show them some reality TV you showed me! I'll be there when Max falls asleep again._

Well, shit. Yawning, she opens Netflix and finds the Since you've watched Bachelor Kids: Teen Mommy Edition! Scrolling for a bit, she found one of her personal favorites.

"Hey kids, who wants to watch Teen Prison Mom Wars?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> have fun waiting another 2 months for the rest of this to drop lol.


End file.
